Catalase Lab Report

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The Effect of Substrate Concentration and Temperature on Catalase Activity Abstract: Catalase, an enzyme found in many living organisms, speeds up the decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide to prevent the formation of free oxygen radicals that can destroy tissue and organs. Many factors influence the function of catalase, including temperature and substrate concentration. Varying concentrations of hydrogen peroxide substrate solution (0.8%, 0.4%, 0.2%, 0.1%, and 0.0%) were reacted with a catalase solution, and the volume of oxygen gas produced per minute was calculated to determine the effect of substrate concentration on reaction rate. Similarly, the effect of temperature on reaction rate was also tested by reacting substrate and catalase solutions at 0 °C, 25 °C, 37 °C, and 100 °C. The experiment demonstrated that an increase in both substrate concentration and temperature below 100 °C increases the…show more content…
In enzyme reactions, reactant molecules called substrates bind to a portion of the enzyme called the active site (Acharya et al., 2014). One enzyme, catalase, has been found in all studied aerobic organisms. (Beulah & Ramana, 2013). Catalase is one of three main types of antioxidant enzymes, specialized enzymes that rid the body of dangerous free oxygen radicals (Harris, 1992). These oxygen radicals are oxygen molecules that have not been completely oxidized by a chemical reaction, and they tend to attack various tissues and organs, including nucleotides (Harris, 1992). One source of these free oxygen radicals is the spontaneous decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (Bonnichsen, 1947). Catalase speeds up the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen to prevent the formation of these free oxygen radicals. (Bonnichsen,

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