To see if temperature makes a difference to the time taken for starch to be broken up and turned into glucose by amylase.

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Enzymes-Amylase and Starch

Aim:   To see if temperature makes a difference to the time taken for starch to be broken up and turned into glucose by amylase.

Hypothesis:     

     Mechanical digestion, for example the tounge,  is used to break the large food particles down so that they are easier to swallow.  Once the food has be taken down into the stomach, some more Mechanical digestion takes place but this is helped by Chemical Digestion.  Enzymes are there to help break the molecules down.  They are Catalysts, which is a chemical that is added to speed up reactions, but remain unchanged by the process.  Every Enzyme has a purpose and a special reaction that is involved in the process.  Enzmes control chemical reactions inside all living things.  Each of the main food groups have an enzyme that breaks it down.

Enzymes have 5 properties that are always the same:

  • They are always proteins
  • They are specific in their action
  • They are destroyed by a rise in temperature
  • They are sensitive to pH
  • They can be used over and over again 
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     Working best at a neutral pH value and at the bodies temperature, a rise above 50 degrees celsius changes the shape of an enzyme and they can no longer work.

     In my experiment Amylase is the enzyme, which is made in the salivary gland and released in the mouth.  The starch is the food which the amylase will act on, this is called the substrate.  The product that will be formed is glucose.  I am looking to see how long it takes for the starch to be digested by the amylase to make glucose.

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