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Group 4 Chemistry - Amylase

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Nick Gourlay SCH4UIB Group 4 Project: Activity of Amylase Lab Partner: Neil Desai Date: February 26 2008 Research Question What is the effect of concentration, pH and temperature on the reaction rate of salivary amylase in the breakdown of starch? Hypothesis I believe that concentration, pH and temperature all have an effect on the activity of salivary amylase in the breakdown of starch and thus effect the reaction rate. I base my hypothesis on the following: 1. Salivary Amylase, also known as ptyalin, is found in saliva and is key to the breakdown of starch. Ptyalin therefore is classified as an enzyme under the following definition. * Enzyme: A protein (or protein-based molecule) that speeds up a chemical reaction in a living organism. 2. It is known that enzyme activity is affected by the three following factors * Concentration of Enzyme * Temperature of Surroundings * pH of Surroundings Therefore we can predict that as we change theses three variables we will notice a change in the activity of salivary amylase. To make further predictions regarding rates of reaction we must take our understanding of salivary amylase as a human protein into account. ...read more.


Take the temperature of the solution immediately after mixing. Swirl to mix 5. Test the solution for starch by dropping a small amount into one of the wells of IKI. Observe any change in colour, a change means starch is still present. 6. Repeat the test with a fresh drop of the solution every 5 seconds until the colour of the solution remains the same as the IKI. Record the time the colour of the solution changes. If after 10 minutes there has been no change, record the reaction time as no reaction. 7. Repeat steps 4, 5 and 6 using the other temperatures Part 3. Reaction Rate against pH 1. Use narrow pH paper to determine the pH of the Saliva collected. 2. 10 drops of the 2% saliva solution should be transferred into 4 test tubes. Place these test tubes in a water bath of approximately 37�C. 3. 2mL of Starch Solution should then be transferred into each of another 4 test tubes. In each of the 4 test tubes 2mL of a different pH buffer should be added. pH buffers 3, 5, 7, 9 should be used. Label these test tubes appropriately. ...read more.


However we must also take into account these uncertainties, they could be the cause of some errors that have led the results to be slightly off the accepted values. The data gained does not present a smooth curved graph as the accepted values show. Doing more trials would have given us a more comprehensive set of data. This would have created a better graph and would have given us greater information to draw conclusions. These different trials could have been of different pH values, temperatures, and concentrations over a broader spectrum. Another improvement to the experiment would be to repeat the same experiment with a more enzymes to compare the varying effect of pH, temperature and concentration on other enzymes. Examples of other possible enzymes can be found in the table of values found in the conclusion. It would also be a good idea to compare the different form of amylase, possibly using concentrated amylase rather than that found in saliva. We could then calculate the exact concentration of amylase. A change in timing method could yield more accurate results, we are working with 5 second intervals, if we could reduce this we would have more accurate results. However the experimental design, procedure and materials have given excellent results and have validated the prediction, nothing needs to be changed to answer the research question. Sources http://www.coolschool.ca/lor/BI12/unit7/U07L03/ http://www.worthington-biochem.com/introbiochem/effectspH.html ...read more.

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