effect of ph on the action of the enzyme amylase
The effect of PH on the action of the enzyme amylase Aim: To discover how large an effect, if any, a range of PH values will have on amylases ability to hydrolyse starch. Introduction: Amylase is an enzyme that breaks down its substrate starch into maltose, it is a globular protein as all enzymes are. ... The exact three-dimensional shape of an enzyme is vital as it is due to this that it can lower the activation energy needed for reactions and so work as a catalyst. Substrate molecules come into contact with an enzyme molecules active site and they join forming an enzyme-substrate complex. ... The substrate is only held by the enzyme for a fraction of a second but in that time the activation energy required for the reaction is reduced. This idea of enzyme action is called the lock and key hypothesis due to the complementary shapes of the active site and the substrate. Starch-agar plates will be used to test the rate of reactions at different PH values. A number of identical wells will be made in a starch-agar plate and a different PH buffer solution will be placed in each one in along with identical amounts of amylase. ... Where amylase has hydrolysed starch into maltose there will be no colour change in the iodine solution. This means that the well with the largest colourless ring around it will be the most suitable PH for the action of amylase. There are a number of factors which can affect the rate of enzyme action or denature the enzyme molecules and stop them working altogether.