Shoumit Sarkar

An experiment investigating catalase reactions Protein that facilitates or speeds up certain chemical reactions
Aim
The aim of this experiment is to observe how catalase is used to react with enzymes.

Background Information
Enzymes are biological catalysts. Enzymes consist of various types of proteins that work to drive the chemical reaction required for a specific action or nutrient. Enzymes can either launch a reaction or speed it up. The chemicals that are transformed with the help of enzymes are called substrates. In the absence of enzymes, these chemicals are called reactants.

Enzymes have active sites where they come into contact with particular substrates. The catalytic properties of enzymes are a cyclic process. Once a substrate has come into contact with the active site of an enzyme, it is modified by the enzyme to form the end product. Once the process is complete, the enzyme releases the product and is ready to begin the process with new substrates. Enzymes are never wasted and always recycled.
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Shoumit Sarkar Catalase is a common enzyme found in nearly all living organisms that are exposed to oxygen, where it functions to catalyze the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen. Catalase has one of the highest turnover numbers of all enzymes; one molecule of catalase can convert millions of molecules of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen per second. The enzyme Catalase carries out the following reaction:

Put in words, Catalase takes two molecules of hydrogen peroxide and converts them to two water molecules plus a molecule of oxygen gas. Hydrogen peroxide is a toxic molecule (that's why we use it to kill bacteria). Hydrogen peroxide is also created in our bodies during normal metabolic events and catalase is present in nearly all human cells.

Hypothesis
We should see the catalase reacting with mostly the uncooked materials as the enzymes are not denatured. The hydrogen peroxide in the cooked materials should not break down as the enzymes have been denatured due to the heat.

Apparatus
Hydrogen Peroxide Tissue Samples o Fresh Liver o Cooked Liver o Fresh Potato o Cooked Potato o Live yeast 5 test tubes Knife

Shoumit Sarkar

Method
1. Place hydrogen peroxide in test tube. 2. Add tissue sample to that test tube Hydrogen Peroxide 3. Observe results 4. Test for oxygen a. Light a splint Cooked Liver b. Extinguish the splint c. With the edge still glowing, put it in the test tube. 5. Repeat using different tissue samples a. Fresh liver b. Cooked liver c. Fresh potato d. Cooked potato e. Live yeast
Live Yeast Cooked Potato Raw Potato

Safety
In this experiment, we will be using knifes. These are very dangerous if played with or if thrown around. Try not to touch the hydrogen peroxide as it is a kind of bleach. It should not be ingested at any costs and could be life threatening if it is. Immediate hospital care is suggested.

Observations Substance Fresh Liver Raw Potato Cooked Potato Cooked Liver Live yeast Observations Very reactive. Produced oxygen Not too reactive, but still produced oxygen Not reactive enough to produce oxygen Not too reactive and very little oxygen produced. Reactive enough and lots of oxygen produced. Oxygen Test Yes Yes No No Yes

Shoumit Sarkar From our results, we can clearly see that all the cooked items did not react with hydrogen peroxide while all the raw materials did. We confirmed this by testing that reaction for oxygen (hydrogen peroxide breaks down into oxygen and water) using a splint.

Conclusion
Therefore my predictions were correct. As the heated enzymes were denatured, they did not react with the hydrogen peroxide to produce oxygen and water. The raw food materials, did not have denatured enzymes and therefore, catalse reacted with the hydrogen peroxide to break down the hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen.

Extension
As an extension, we could conduct the same experiment but using each tissue sample at different temperatures. For eg. Use potato samples at 20, 37 and 60 degrees. We could then compare the rate of reaction and what effect temperature has on enzymes.