Enzyme Lab and Graphs

I think the week we did the Enzyme Lab was the most confused I have ever been in Biology. I have been putting this blog off for awhile but I know my grade depends on getting it done, so here it is.


Our group had a simple setup. (or so Michael said, didn't seem that simple to me) We mixed 3 ml of water with 3 ml of hydrogen peroxide. We added the enzyme yeast to make a chemical reaction that would make oxygen. The yeast, our enzyme, breaks the oxygen from the hydrogen peroxide and releases the oxygen into the air. Using a pressure probe we measured the pressure coming from the chemical reaction. We did our experiment three different ways. In the first we changed the amount of enzyme we put in. In the second we changed the temperature of the solution that we put the enzyme in to make the reaction. In the third experiment we changed the water in the solution to a pH solution. We did each experiment 3 times so we could calculate accurate data for each experiment.

Here are the different graphs we used to collect our data from the experiment.

In this graph we changed the amount of enzyme that we added to the solution. Or a simpler way to say it!...We changed the amount of drops we added to the mixture in the test tube. (10, 20, 30, or 40 drops.) The graph has a constant slope. I'm going to say what this means in two ways.
SIMPLE WAY: The more enzyme thats in the solution the more pressure there is.
SMART WAY: The speed at which the reaction occurs is a direct result of the ratio of the enzyme to the solution. (thank you Michael for helping me come up with that! =])

In this graph we changed the temperature of the solution where the reaction is taking place. The simple explanation....We changed the temperature of the stuff in the test tube. (0, 25, 38, or 80 degrees Celsius.) We kept the yeast at 25 drops every time.
From this graph we noted that freezing the solution at 0 degrees Celsius and heating it up to 80 degrees Celsius was not good on the reaction. When the temperature got to hot the graph decreased rapidly. This is because when there is to much heat is causes the enzymes to become denatured. (FUN FACT: Denatured means the shape changed...you know you can learn a lot looking at other peoples blogs.) We found out the best temperature for making oxygen was between 25 and 38 degrees Celsius. This is where the highest rate of reaction occurred.



Ok this was the part in the experiment that I was really confused. So I decided to look at my fellow group members blogs( Michael and Kyle H) to try and understand what went on better. Well....that made me more confused. Kyle said that the graph was messed up because Sierra(She was also in our group) couldn't measure out drops right....So there was one thing they had in common so I am going to talk about that.

In this graph we changed the 3ml of water in the solution to 3 ml of different pH solutions. (4, 7, and 10). So I think the graph kind of shows this but we found that the most oxygen was produced at the pH level 7. (FUN FACT: which is normal by the way!) It produced less oxygen at the pH levels 4 and 10.



In my research on enzymes this is something interesting I learned:  Superoxide Dismutase, or SOD, is a metalloenzyme. SOD plays an extremely important role in the protection of all life-systems. The enzyme superoxide dismutase, or SOD, catalyzes into oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. SOD is present in essentially every cell in the body. The two major forms of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in humans are the mitochondrial manganese SOD and the cytosolic copper/zinc SOD. When organisms cause serious disease, it takes the body a very long time to recover, and depending on the strength of the patient the bacteria may win. The ability of the enzyme to provide some protection to organisms is shown by the existence of a motor neuron disease in individuals who have point mutations in SOD.  The absence of SOD may lead to a form of anemia. A number of tumour cells have been found to be deficient in SOD. The absence of SOD activity seems to support cancer. In addition, SOD mops up the superoxide. Amyotophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a crippling neuromuscular disease that usually attacks people between the ages of fifty and sixty. Strong evidence links ALS to mutations in the SOD1 gene. When the SOD gene is mutated, the enzyme is also mutated. The mutated enzyme loses its anti-oxidant effect. Inhibiting this enzyme could slow or stop the degeneration of nerve cells, which leads to the disruption of muscle control in ALS patients. As an enzyme, SOD has particular value as an antioxidant that can help to protect against cell destruction. It has the ability to neutralize superoxide, one of the most damaging free radical substances in nature. Like so many other protective compounds which naturally occur in the body, it decreases with age, making cells much more vulnerable to the oxidants which cause aging and disease. It occurs naturally in broccoli, Brussels's sprouts, wheat grass and in the majority of green plants.



This is my last blog for the semester because now it is time for Christmas Break. Even though this was the most challenging thing in Biology for me this year I think I understand enzymes pretty well now.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
and
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
SEE ALL OF MY BIOLOGY FRIENDS NEXT YEAR IN 2011!