The effect of temperature on amylase activity

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                                                                 Kiu Yi, IP 13M

The effect of temperature on amylase activity

Introduction

The purpose of this experiment is to investigate if temperature will affect the amount of starch broken down as enzyme activity can change by different temperature. This is because as temperature rises the rate of chemical reactions increases due to the temperature increases the rate of the molecules’ motion. More interactions will be existed between an enzyme and its substrate.

The enzyme used in this lab exercise is amylase, which is commonly found in saliva and germinating seeds, catalyzes the breakdown of starch. It also reacts quickly when heat is present during the process of it reaction. However, if the temperature is higher than the optimum point, enzymes can be denatured and they can no longer bind to a substrate and catalyze reactions. My hypothesis is therefore the amylase activity would increase as the temperature rise, until a certain high temperature at which the amylase would denature and be non-functional.

In this experiment, I will observe the activity of amylase by using iodine as iodine reacts with starch to form a dark brown/purple color. After adding in iodine, when amylase breaking down starch, less and less starch will be present and the color of this solution will become lighter and lighter.

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Equipments

Controlled variables

• Same temperature of amylase and starch solution

This can ensure that amylase can react with starch solution in the same temperature, a more accurate result can be received

• Same amount of amylase and starch solution in each time of the experiment

Fewer variables will be occurred as the solution was fixed in a certain volume, which will lead to a reliable result

• Water bath that letting the temperature stay constant

The stable temperature can ensure a stable reaction in the amylase and starch mixture, a more reliable result will be introduced

Method

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**** A good investigation into the effect of temperature on the enzyme amylase. The introduction gave good scientific information and supported the hypothesis well. The method could have been more explicit about volumes of solution and how to carry out the experiment. The data collected was excellent and supported with a good conclusion. One area it could have been improved in was how increasing temperature increases the vibrational frequency of the enzyme and this leads to the enzyme becoming denatured.