Objective

To examine the rates of enzymatic reactions and effects of varying applied conditions.

pH
Concentration
Temperature

Introduction

Enzymes are often described as 'organic catalysts which increase the rate of reaction
of a bio-chemical reaction' ( David L.Nelson etal 2008). Enzymes increase the rate velocity of
various reactions that occur in a biological system such as the mammalian digestive system.
Enzymes can have functions including transfer, synthesis or breakdown of molecules. It is
important to mention that enzymes are proteins which speed up the rate of reaction without
being used up themselves, they are reusable.

Enzymes also is a protein molecules composed of amino acids and are manufactured
by the living cell. These molecules provide energy for the organism by catalyzing various bio-
chemical reactions. If enzymes were not present in cells, most of the chemical reactions
would not proceed at measurable rates at the temperatures of living systems.

In this experiment, we do the investigation on enzyme kinetics. Enzyme kinetics is the

study of catalytic reactions, or reaction rate, which occurs in the presence of enzymes under
varying conditions, specificities, and mechanisms such as the proximity effect, orientation
effect, catalytic effect and energy effect; the studies are conducted under assorted
circumstances, such as temperature, pH, and component concentrations in correlation to
reaction rates. For example, enzyme concentration directly relates to reaction rates whereby
an increase in enzyme concentration will also increase the rate of the reaction in a linear
relationship.
 Enzyme activity (reaction rates) is dependent upon the environmental conditions either
in nature or in the laboratory. This is because these conditions can alter the amino acid side
chains in a protein, affecting protein structure and folding and sometimes the enzyme's active
site. The effects of some of those conditions will be explored in this exercise. Just as in any
chemical reaction, the concentration of reactants (substrates) will affect enzymatic reaction
rates. In regards to substrate concentration, enzyme kinetics follows the Michaelis-Menton
Model:

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=
+ []

Figure : Enzyme Kinetic Curve

Reference

1) Wikibooks. Structural Biochemistry/Enzyme/Michaelis and Menten Equation.

Retrieved from
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Structural_Biochemistry/Enzyme/Michaelis_and
_Menten_Equation
2) Wikipedia. MichaelisMenten kinetics. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michaelis%E2%80%93Menten_kinetics
3) Wikipedia. Enzyme kinetics. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzyme_kinetics