Enzyme Lab Report

Enzymes act as a biological catalase by increasing the rate of reaction by lowering the
activation energy. According to Piscataway, “enzymes are proteins catalase that lower the
amount of activation energy needed for a reaction to occur initially allowing the reaction to occur
rapidly (2014).” Also when the activation energy is lowered it does not affect the shape of the
enzyme. In order for enzymes to carry out the reaction process a substrate which is a substance
that an enzyme acts on must bind to something called an active site. If the enzymes shape is
changed in any way it will not be able to bind to the active site. According to (Merriam Webster,
2018), “An active site is a region on the surface of an enzyme whose shape permits

binding only
of a specific molecular substrate that then undergoes catalysis.” There will not be a catalyzed
reaction without the enzyme binding to the active cite; without the binding the whole reaction
comes to a halt.

The enzyme catalyzed reaction used for this experiment is located below.
H20 + Catalase H20 + 02 + Catalase
A catalase is a chemical that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being
changed by the reaction. The catalase prevents and protects the peroxide from damaging cell
organs and cell tissue. An enzyme is a protein so the enzyme catalase is found in proteins but
enzyme catalase is mainly found in the liver. It is important for the catalase to break down the
hydrogen peroxide because like mentioned before peroxide damage organ and skin tissue. The
enzyme catalase breaks down the hydrogen peroxide by converting it into water and oxygen
eliminating the peroxide until more is formed and the enzyme catalyzed reaction will occur
again.
The enzyme activity was measure by using a spectrophotometer. This was done by
gathering data every 15 minute at a wavelength of 500nm. The spectrophotometer measure the
amount of brown color in the end product. The guaiacol was used in this experiment because
after mixing the enzyme, substrate, and the guaiacol the color of the substance would

change
to a brown color after being oxidized. According to Dalton, “Many dyes will react with the
active oxygen and change the color state. Enzyme activity can be best expressed by how fast the
enzymes are bumping into one another and the substrate attaching to the active cite.