ELA & SS Component

Journal Essay

Throughout the experiment we made sure to record the data and check test tubes frequently to observe any drastic changes. While measuring the height of the bubbles from each test tube we were able to observe the difference between pH levels. We had to analyze the different effects of the carrots based on high heat, low pH, and high pH on the catalase enzyme.

We had already done background research on enzymes and we were able to learn that they speed up the chemical reaction and can as a catalyst in living organisms. Because we used raw carrots while we preformed the experiment, the results had a better outcome because of the nutrients that the carrots carry.

After conducting the experiment the pH levels of 5 and 7 had the most visible reactions. As the the pH level goes up the enzyme activity also increases showing that the higher the pH level ( on the range of 3-5, 7) is the more optimum enzyme activity. We could see this based on the results of the height of the bubbles after the reaction of the enzymes activity and pH levels.

Historical Connections

Enzymes were first discovered by French chemist Anselme Payen in 1833. The first enzyme discovered was the diastase. The early twentieth century saw dramatic advancement in enzyme studies. Emil Fischer (1852-1919) recognized the importance of substrate shape for binding by enzymes. Leonor Michaelis (1875-1949) and Maud Menten introduced a mathematical approach for quantifying enzyme-catalyzed reactions.

The biological processes that occur within all living organisms are chemical reaction and most are regulated by enzymes. Without enzymes, many of these reactions would not take place at a perceptible rate. Enzymes catalyze all aspects of cell metabolism. All enzymes were once thought to be proteins, but since the 1980s the catalytic ability of certain nucleic acids, called ribozymes (or catalytic RNAs), has been demonstrated, refuting this axiom. A large protein enzyme molecule is composed of one or more amino acid chains called polypeptide chains. The amino acid sequence determines the characteristic folding patterns of the protein’s structure, which is essential to enzyme specificity.

An enzyme will interact with only one type of substance or group of substances, called the substrate, too catalyze a certain kind of reaction.Only a certain region of the enzyme, called the active site, binds to the substrate. The active site is a groove or pocket formed by the folding pattern of the protein. Enzyme synthesis and activity also are influenced by genetic control and distribution in a cell. Some enzymes are not produced by certain cells, and others are formed only when required. Because enzymes are not consumed in the reactions they catalyze and can be used over and over again, only a very small quantity of an enzyme is needed to catalyze a reaction.