How the pH scale affects the Denaturing of Enzymes
Purpose: The purpose of this lab was to test how objects slightly acidic or slightly basic will affect the way catalase, the enzyme tested, denatures, or breaks down.
Hypothesis: If the potato is acidic, it will react with the H2O2 more than it will with the raw, plain potato because the acid will denature the enzyme faster. The manipulated/independent variable is the raw, plain potato while the responding/dependent variable is the other types of potatoes used in the experiment.
Materials:
Test tube rack
4 test tubes
Graduated cylinder
Beaker
10-15 mL of hydrogen peroxide
Potatoes
Raw potato
Potato soaked in baking soda
Potato soaked in baking soda
Stopwatch
Goggles
Procedures:
1. Get all your materials. Put all the potatoes into individual test tubes.
2. Pour 3mL of hydrogen peroxide into one test tube. Watch and time how much time goes by before the reaction begins.
3. Observe and write down the time.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all the potatoes have been tested and observed.
Data:
Type of potato
Amount of hydrogen peroxide
Time until reaction occurs
Raw potato
3 mL
5 seconds
Lemon juiced potato
3 mL
60 seconds
Baking soda potato
3 mL
15 seconds
Conclusion: In our experiment, we found out that the raw potato had a reaction with the hydrogen peroxide faster than the lemon juiced and the baking soda potatoes. The lemon juice potato actually took the longest time to react while the baking soda potato was faster than the lemon juiced but also slower than the raw. Our data shows that acids and bases do affect the timing of the chemical reaction. Our data does not support our hypothesis. We thought the acid was going to cause a quicker reaction than the raw potato but the complete opposite occurred. These results occurred because the acid in the lemon juice and the base in the baking soda altered how long it would take until a reaction occurs. There are a handful of human errors that could have been made while
Hypothesis: If the potato is acidic, it will react with the H2O2 more than it will with the raw, plain potato because the acid will denature the enzyme faster. The manipulated/independent variable is the raw, plain potato while the responding/dependent variable is the other types of potatoes used in the experiment.
Materials:
Test tube rack
4 test tubes
Graduated cylinder
Beaker
10-15 mL of hydrogen peroxide
Potatoes
Raw potato
Potato soaked in baking soda
Potato soaked in baking soda
Stopwatch
Goggles
Procedures:
1. Get all your materials. Put all the potatoes into individual test tubes.
2. Pour 3mL of hydrogen peroxide into one test tube. Watch and time how much time goes by before the reaction begins.
3. Observe and write down the time.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all the potatoes have been tested and observed.
Data:
Type of potato
Amount of hydrogen peroxide
Time until reaction occurs
Raw potato
3 mL
5 seconds
Lemon juiced potato
3 mL
60 seconds
Baking soda potato
3 mL
15 seconds
Conclusion: In our experiment, we found out that the raw potato had a reaction with the hydrogen peroxide faster than the lemon juiced and the baking soda potatoes. The lemon juice potato actually took the longest time to react while the baking soda potato was faster than the lemon juiced but also slower than the raw. Our data shows that acids and bases do affect the timing of the chemical reaction. Our data does not support our hypothesis. We thought the acid was going to cause a quicker reaction than the raw potato but the complete opposite occurred. These results occurred because the acid in the lemon juice and the base in the baking soda altered how long it would take until a reaction occurs. There are a handful of human errors that could have been made while