NAME: ______________________________ Date: ________________ SCORE: ___________
Course & Section: _________________________ Grp No.: ___________
ACTIVITY NO. 8
FACTORS THAT AFFECT ENZYME ACTIVITY
WORKSHEET:
1. What is the effect of enzyme concentration and substrate on the reaction rate?
Increasing enzyme concentration will speed up the reaction, as long as there is substrate
available to bind to. Once all of the substrate is bound, the reaction will no longer speed
up, since there will be nothing for additional enzymes to bind to. Increasing substrate
concentration also increases the rate of reaction to a certain point. Once all of the
enzymes have bound, any substrate increase will have no effect on the rate of reaction,
as the available enzymes will be saturated and working at their maximum rate.
2. What is the enzyme present in banana under study? How about in the saliva?
Bananas contain amylases, an enzyme that break down starch into smaller and more
easily absorbed sugars. Saliva contains special enzymes that help digest the starches in
your food. An enzyme called amylase breaks down starches into sugars, which your
body can more easily absorb.
3. At what optimum pH and temperature does the enzyme for banana and saliva have?
AMYLASE has an OPTIMAL RANGE of pH and Temperature which is pH = 7
(neutral) and 37 degrees C. These are the same conditions that exist in our bodies.
When an enzyme is within its Optimal Range or conditions, it will be able to catalyze
reactions at its fastest rate.
4. What are the factors that affect enzyme activity and briefly explain each?
a. pH - Each enzyme has an optimum pH range. Changing the pH outside of this range
will slow enzyme activity. Extreme pH values can cause enzymes to denature.
b. Temperature - Raising temperature generally speeds up a reaction, and lowering
temperature slows down a reaction. However, extreme high temperatures can cause an
enzyme to lose its shape (denature) and stop working.
c. Enzyme concentration - Increasing enzyme concentration will speed up the reaction, as
long as there is substrate available to bind to. Once all of the substrate is bound, the
reaction will no longer speed up, since there will be nothing for additional enzymes to
bind to.
d. Substrate concentration - Increasing substrate concentration also increases the rate of
reaction to a certain point. Once all of the enzymes have bound, any substrate increase
will have no effect on the rate of reaction, as the available enzymes will be saturated
and working at their maximum rate.
5. During digestion, the pH in the stomach is 2. What does this indicate about the optimum
pH of pepsin, an enzyme that hydrolyzes protein in the stomach?
Pepsin is an enzyme that produced in the vertebrae of the stomach has an optimum
pH of 2, the optimum pH of pepsin indicates that it is highly acidic.
6. What happens to the activity of pepsin when it enters the small intestine where the pH is
8?
The pepsin enzymes will lose their enzymatic activity and are no longer functional.
This is because the enzyme can't maintain its correct shape (folding) at higher pH.
7. Refrigeration prevents the spoilage of food. What does this action have to do with the way
that enzymes work?
Usually, the enzyme does not perform well at lower temperatures which means that
the activity or performance of the enzyme is low. The low activity of the enzyme
indicates a low rate of spoilage of food. This is the reason why the refrigeration
process helps to prevent the spoilage of food.
