The effect of temperature on the reaction between amylase and starch

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Biology Coursework

The effect of temperature on the reaction between

amylase and starch

By Arnita Manandhar

Form 11S

Mrs Sharma

My aim is to find out if temperature affects the rate of reaction between amylase and starch.

The basic idea of my prediction was that the higher the temperature was, the faster the rate of reaction between amylase and starch. This is because heat energy causes more collisions between the particles in both the substrate and enzyme. However after remembering my past studies regarding enzymes, I realised that by prediction had to be interpreted to a certain extent due to the denaturing of enzymes in high temperatures.

 

 The Optimum temperature is the maximum temperature an enzyme can catalyse a reaction and which has the right amount of energy to reach the activation energy which begins the process. Activation energy is the energy that connects the enzyme with its particular substrate. Looking at the graph above, it is fair to say that since enzymes are used in our own bodies it is proven that after around 40˚C the enzymes start to denature. Hence, this explains the theory that when we have high temperatures and are ill, the enzymes in our body do not function properly. After this comprehension, my prediction developed into:

I predict that the higher the temperature, the faster the rate of reaction between amylase and starch, however after 40˚C/50˚C, the reaction time will slow down and the reaction will stop to take place after a certain temperature.

Below is a table showing the results of the experiment portraying how temperature affects the rate of reaction. It depicts two different reaction times for each temperature as I repeated the experiment, the averages and the rate of reaction, which was worked out by 1/Average Reaction Time.

With these results I have created two graphs, one representing how temperature affects the average time taken for amylase and starch to react and the other represents how the temperature affects the rate of reaction between amylase and starch.

Looking at my graphs and my results table, I can successfully say that my prediction was proved correct. The graph showing how temperature affects the average reaction time shows that the lower the temperature, the longer it takes for the amylase and starch to react. For example, if you look at the graph for the results of 20˚C, the reaction time is 491 seconds whereas when the temperature is 60˚C, the reaction time is 48 seconds. The graph that shows the rate of reaction also supports my prediction as it depicts that the higher the temperature, the faster the rate of reaction. For example, if you look at the graph, at 60˚C, the rate of reaction is 0.021 seconds and at 20˚C, the rate is only 0.002 seconds.

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In my prediction I had also included the fact that the enzymes will begin to denature so the reaction times will increase and the rate of reaction will decrease. This was shown in my graphs as well. At 70˚C the average reaction time increased to 134 seconds and the rate of reaction decreased to 0.007 seconds. These results show the beginning of the denaturing of the enzymes.

Raising the temperature had two effects. When the particles had speeded up, there were more collisions per second and these collisions would possess the activation energy needed for the reaction to ...

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