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Enzyme Lab Report

Decent Essays

The Effects of Temperature and Specificity on the Activity of Enzyme

Afomia Zewdie
BIOL-1406-S4L Lab
June 30, 2016

Abstract
This experiment was performed in order to determine how the condition of the environment and the specificity can affect enzymatic activity. The activity of enzyme, how efficiently the enzyme functions, is affected by general environmental factors, such as temperature and PH. It can also affected by chemicals that specifically influence that enzyme. In condition of low temperature environment, the enzymes activity will be low. As the temperature raises the rate of an enzyme-catalyzed reaction increases. The optimal temperature of an enzyme is where the temperature that the enzyme works best. Enzyme specificity is the ability of enzyme to choose exact substrate from similar molecules. Lactase is an enzyme found in small intestine that catalyzes the breakdown of Lactose (milk sugar) into the simple sugars glucose and galactose. In this experiment the enzyme Lactase and its’ substrate Lactose were used to measure the production of Glucose. This experiment will examine the specificity of an enzyme to only a specific substrate and the amount of glucose production in different temperature.
Introduction
An enzyme is a macromolecule that acts as a catalyst, a chemical agent that speeds up a reaction without being consumed by the reaction. Enzymes speed up energy by lowering activation energy barrier. They break down molecules called substrates.

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