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Lani Chung

Period 2B

September 13, 2011

Toothpickase Lab

Part A: Rate of Product Formation in an Enzyme-Facilitated Reaction:

4. Graph the results.

5. Calculate the rate of enzyme action in toothpicks per second for each 60 second interval: How many

toothpicks were broken after 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, etc.

For the first interval about 0.48 toothpicks were broken per second, in the second interval about 0.45

toothpicks were broken per second, in the third interval about 0.35 toothpicks were broken per second, in the

fourth interval about 0.05 toothpicks were broken per second, and in the last interval no toothpicks were

broken because all 80 toothpicks were already broken. After one minute 29 toothpicks were broken, after twominutes 56 toothpicks were broken, after three minutes 77 toothpicks were broken, after four minutes 80

toothpicks were broken, and after five minutes 80 toothpicks were broken.

6. Discuss your results under the graph. Explain what happens to the rate and summarize enzyme activity.

Our results showed that enzyme activity steadily increased about 10 toothpicks for every 20 second interva

until in neared about 200 seconds because there werentenough toothpicks left to catalyze. Therefore, the

rate stopped increasing and stayed at 80 toothpicks from the 220 second mark to the 300 second mark since

0

20

40

60

80

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300

10

19

29

39

49

56

62

70

77 79 80 80 80 80 80

Rate of Product Formation in an Enzyme-Facilitated Reaction

Time in Seconds

Numberof

Toothpicks

Catalyzed

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all toothpicks were already catalyzed. This means that enzyme activity will steadily increase over time until it

runs out of substrates to catalyze and has a stabilized rate of increase.

Part B: Effect of Substrate Concentration on Reaction Rate:

4. Graph the results.

5. Discuss your results and explain why the rates were different at different concentrations. Summarize the

effect of substrate concentration on enzyme action.

For the first six trials, I saw a steady increase in the rate of enzyme activity. But in the next trials, the rate

jumped up and down from 10 to 8 to 11 to 7 to 10. Although my results showed consistency in the beginning,

it was inconsistent towards the last trials. The rates were different at different concentrations because the

toothpickase person generally had a harder time finding toothpicks when there was a low concentration of

toothpicks while they had an easier time finding toothpicks when there was a high concentration of toothpicks

This is because when there is a high ratio or concentration of toothpicks mixed in with the twist ties, there is a

higher probably that you would find a toothpick and vice versa. Because of this, when substrate concentration

is high, is may cause enzyme action to increase while low substrate concentrations might cause enzyme action

to decrease.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

7 7

8 8

9

10

8

11

7

10

Effect of Substrate Concentration on Reaction Rate

Number of Toothpicks

Num

bero

f

Too

thp

ick

s

Ca

talyzed

(In

20

Second

Intervals

)

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Part C: Effect of Temperature Substrate Concentration on Reaction Rate:

3. Calculate the rate of enzyme action in toothpicks per second. Compare the two rates.

The rate of enzyme action for hands in iced water was about 0.36 toothpicks per second while the rate of

enzyme action for hands that werent in iced water was about 0.48 toothpicks per second. The rate for hands

in iced water was a little lower than that of the hands not in iced water, showing that the hands that werent

in iced water performed faster.

4. Discuss your results and explain why the rates were different at different temperatures. Summarize the

effect of temperature on enzyme action.

My results showed that hands placed in iced water could break 10 toothpicks in 28 seconds while hands not

placed in iced water could break 10 toothpicks in 21 seconds. Because hands that are placed in iced water lose

feeling and are often very painful, it is harder to do a task than using hands not affected by the cold. This is

why the rates were different at different temperatures. This also goes for enzyme action because if an enzyme

is not at its optimum temperature, it cannot perform as well as it could if it were in an ideal temperature. In

this case, the cold would slow down the molecules, cause less collisions, and as a result cause less reactions.

a) Explain what would happen to an enzyme-facilitated reaction if temperature were increased. Be sure to

include the effect if temperature were increased to 100 degrees Celsius.

If the temperature in an enzyme-facilitated reaction increased, the enzymes might be able to react more often

and perform faster because heat makes molecules more faster, causing more collisions and reactions

However if the temperature reached 100 degrees Celsius, it is quite possible that the enzyme wouldnt be able

to handle the heat. This could cause the enzyme to lose its shape and get denatured, making it lose its ability

to work.

b) What is the optimal temperature (degrees Celsius) for enzymes in the human body?

The optimal temperature for enzymes in the human body is 37 degrees Celsius or 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit

which is body temperature.