Enzyme Lab Report

Our experiment was testing whether or not an increased amount of enzyme concentration would result in a higher rate of reaction. We hypothesized that if enzyme concentration is increased, then a higher rate of reaction and more product will be produced. We used a variety of materials for our experiment. These materials would be grass, a mortar and pestle, test tubes, test tube holder, hydrogen peroxide, safety glasses, water, a small rule, a 10 mL syringe, 1 paper towel, a digital balance, and our effort. We conducted our experiment by making five different enzyme concentrations by diluting the same amount of enzyme volume an increasing amount. The first concentration was 3 mL of enzyme and each concentration would be diluted by extracting 0.6 mL of enzyme each next test tube and adding 0.6 mL of water to keep the volume of each the same. After we had all of our concentrations, we added 1 mL of hydrogen peroxide to each concentration and measured how much product was produced form each. After collecting all of the data from each of our concentrations, we came to the conclusion that, yes, in support of our hypothesis, an increased amount of enzyme concentration does in fact result in a higher rate of reaction (or product being produced). Our findings are significant because they display a support to our hypothesis and set a foundation for anyone that would want to re-create our experiment in the future. 

Introduction:
Most enzymes function by weakening bonds which then in turn lowers the activation energy needed for a reaction to take place. Enzymes, by doing this, can speed up reactions to up to thousands of times faster. Enzymes are specific to what they catalyze, and this means that usually an enzyme can only catalyze one substance. Since enzymes speed up reactions by weakening bonds, there is also variables that can further increase the rate at which an enzyme functions. There are four; temperature, pH, enzyme concentration, and substrate concentration. Keeping this in mind, we wanted to know how enzyme concentration directly affects the rate of a reaction. To find the answer, first we first we developed a hypothesis. We hypothesized that a higher enzyme concentration would result in a higher rate of reaction. Then we designed our experiment in order to directly test the variable. We used a natural enzyme found in plants called peroxidase and the substrate that is hydrogen peroxide. To test our hypothesis, we made five different concentrations of the enzyme and added the substrate to it. We the recorded what we saw.

Purpose: The purpose of our experiment was to test whether or not a higher enzyme concentration would result in a higher rate of reaction and more product being produced.
Hypothesis: If a higher enzyme concentration results in a higher rate of reaction, then it will result in more product from the catalytic reaction.
Procedure:
Materials:
5 glass test tubes
Test tube rack/Holder
Fresh picked grass
Water
Mortar and pestle
Hydrogen peroxide
10 mL syringe
Small ruler
Safety glasses
1 paper towel for filtration
Digital Balance
Cell phone timer

Steps:
Weight 3 grams of grass on digital balance
Put grass in mortar with water
Grind grass keeping a 3 gram to 10 mL of water ratio
Filter enzyme using paper towel
Put 5 test tubes on test tube rack
Make five different concentrations of enzyme by diluting with water in test tubes
Measure 1 mL of Hydrogen peroxide
Put safety glasses on
Put Hydrogen Peroxide in each concentration one by one
Record product produced over the span of 1 minute by using small ruler

Results:

Sec | Concentration	20%	40%	60%	80%	100%
10 seconds	0.5	0.7	1.0	2.5	2.9
20 seconds	0.9	1.2	1.8	4.0	5.2
30 seconds	1.4	1.8	2.7	5.3	7.1
40 seconds	1.7	2.3	3.5	6.4	8.5
50 seconds	2.0	2.9	4.2	7.1	9.7
60 seconds	2.6	3.4	4.9	7.8	10.7

Data Analysis:
Out of the five concentrations, all reactions produce product. However, the highest enzyme concentration produced the most product due to it's faster rate of reaction, and so on. The concentration that was 3 mL enzyme and 0 mL water produced 10.9 cm of product, the concentration that was 2.4 mL enzyme and 0.6 mL water produced 7.8 cm of product, and the concentration that was 1.8 mL enzyme and 1.2 mL water produced 4.9 cm of product. Finally, the concentration that was 1.2 mL enzyme and 1.8 mL water produced 3.4 cm product and the concentration that was 0.6 mL enzyme and 2.4 mL water produced 2.6 cm of product. This line graph correctly displays our data because it shows a line for each concentration with its product at every 10 seconds and the final amount it produced. The chart explains product being produced by each concentration over the course of one minute as well. We created the graph to display that yes, a higher enzyme concentration does result in a higher rate of reaction and more product being produced. We also created it to display a "total" amount of product produced from each concentration.

Conclusion:

In this experiment, we were given the four variables that affect the rate of reaction between an enzyme and substrate, temperature, pH, enzyme concentration and substrate concentration. From these four, we had to formulate a hypothesis and create a experiment testing the effect that the variable has on the rate of reaction. We chose to conduct our experiment on enzyme concentration. Specifically, how enzyme concentration would affect the rate of reaction and the product being released by the enzyme and the substrate. We hypothesized that if enzyme concentration has an effect on the rate of reaction, then the higher the concentration, the higher the rate of reaction will be and the more product it will produce from the reaction. For the design of our experiment, we decided to have the same volume of enzyme in 5 different trials, but have each diluted with water by 20%, increasing by each trial. We had 5 trials in total, meaning we had one concentration that was 3 mL enzyme and 0 mL diluted with water, one that was 2.4 mL enzyme and 0.6 diluted with water, one that was 1.8 mL enzyme and 1.2 mL diluted with water, one that was 1.2 mL enzyme and 1.8 mL diluted with water, and finally, one that was 0.6 enzyme and 2.4 diluted with water. From then, we added 1 mL of hydrogen peroxide to each concentration and recorded the results we observed. We recorded each concentration for a minute, and measured the product it produced using centimeters. We recorded that the concentration with 100% enzyme produced 10.7 cm of product, the 80% enzyme and 20% water produced 7.8 cm of product, the 60% enzyme and 40% water produced 4.9 cm of product, the 40% enzyme and 60% water produced 3.4 cm of product, and finally, the 20% enzyme and 80% water produced 2.6 cm of product. From this, we notice something that could be a correlation to what we hypothesized. 

In the data we retrieved, we see that the as the enzyme concentration increases, the product being produced increased as well. These results indicate that, in support of our hypothesis, a higher enzyme concentration did in fact result in a higher rate of reaction and more product being produced. With an increased enzyme concentration, came an increased amount of product being produced from the reaction. We believe that these result suggest that yes, a higher enzyme concentration does result in a higher rate of reaction overall. Of course, if this is true, then a lower enzyme concentration in turn results in a lower rate of reaction. These were the results we expected to get because we knew that if there is a higher enzyme concentration, then there is more enzyme to attach to the substrate, which then in turn results in more product being produced which indicates a higher rate of reaction.  We anticipated these results because it is a scientific fact that a higher enzyme concentration results in a higher rate rate of reaction. Our findings are significant because they show support to our hypothesis and display support to previously stated scientific information. Our findings connect to the real world because, most likely, a type of higher enzyme concentration, no matter the type of enzyme, will be probable to produce a higher rate of reaction. Based on our findings, scientific information, and the manner in which we conducted our experiment, anyone should be able to re-create our experiment and get similar findings. 

While we conducted our experiment, our minds were running all over the place, asking all types of questions related to the experiment. One of the most significant questions that came to mind happened to be, what would happen if substrate concentration was the one being increased instead of enzyme concentration? We came to the conclusion that if substrate concentration were being increased, it would show similar results to that of increased enzyme concentration, but certainly not identical. The graph of the increased substrate concentration would have a “leveling off” as it reaches maximum activity. Our experiment was not necessarily conducted in the most efficient manner, but it was the most efficient manner we would get it to at the moment. If we could go back, we would change the volume of the enzyme concentration in each test tube. This was because as the concentrations increased, it got more and more difficult to measure the product being produced as it began to overflow. This was about the only difficulty we encountered, but we used our problem solver minds to solve the problem. To keel measuring after it overflowed, we just measured how much would come out of the top of the test tube. Another minor thing that went wrong was that, when we were trying to filter our enzyme with a paper towel, the paper towel absorbed everything, and we had to make a new batch of enzyme. Other than those two explained, our experiment ran pretty smoothly. 

Bibliography: 

“Grass .” WHYY, whyy.org/episodes/grass-wars-bermuda-vs-fescue/.

“Hydrogen Peroxide.” Target, www.target.com/p/hydrogen-peroxide-topical-solution-usp-32oz-up-up-153/-/A-15115908.

Test Tube Rack. www.fishersci.com/shop/products/locking-test-tube-rack-blue/14955035.

Joshua Post #4

Our plants survival depends on abiotic and biotic factors simultaneously. One abiotic factor that our plants depend on for survival would have to be water. This would be abiotic because water is not living. Our plants depend on this for survival because without water there is no form of life. Water gives our plants nutrients that help it grow and the plants cells need water to function. Without these regular functions, the plant would die. Another abiotic factor that our plants depend on for survival would have to be soil. Without the soil in which they are situated, our plants would die. Finally, some more abiotic factors would be sunlight, climate, weather, and space. Without sunlight, our plants would not have an energy source and would not be able to carry out their regular functions such as photosynthesis. The plant would not make food, and die. The climate and weather as well because if its too hot or too cold, the plant will die. Too much precipitation or too little will kill our plants. Finally, space because without the space it needs to grow, it will not survive. Biotic factors that affect our plants would be other nearby plants that share the same niche. This would be because they would be in competition for resources and the growth could be not as great. Competition could even kill our plants. Other biotic factors that would affect out plant could be diseases and harmful bacteria. This would be because they would harm or kill our plant. The final biotic factor would be small animals that could eat off our plants and substantially harm them.

I know that our plants are engaged in competition because there is so many other organisms living in the same plant box, and right next to it. These plants have the same needs and since there are many, they are competing for them. They are competing for water, sunlight, and space. Other organisms that may be engaged in competition could be small animals that live in the plant box and have the same necessities.

The winners and losers in this struggle are determined by which plants survive and which plants are clearly struggling and die. If a plant is healthy, growing, and prospering, it is winning. If a plant is struggling and dying, it is losing. Sometimes it is not always clear who wins or loses, and this may be because plants could show no growth and no deteriorating conditions either. It might also not be clear because plants might adapt to their limited amount of resources and not die. Other signs of no winning or losing is growing at the same rate. If two plants are competing, they could be getting the same amount of all factors and grow at the same rate.

The types of interactions that our plants are involved in are symbiotic relationships. Specifically, mutualism and parasitism. This would be because nitrogen fixing bacteria live in our plants roots. The bacteria get some place to live and the plants get some nitrates which are turned to nutrients. They are participating in parasitism because other animals in the garden have appeared to have used our plants as food. They bit away at the leaves. Since those animals are benefiting by getting food and our plants are being harmed, it is parasitism. Other interactions that our plants are involved in could be the food chain. This would be because they are producers, so small herbivores such as small caterpillars could eat them.

The plant box in which our plants were planted in is an example of secondary succession. This is because soil already existed there previously, and secondary succession is when soil already exists somewhere. Prior to our plants living there, there were other plants that had previously lived there. They happened to have died and been cleared out for our plants this year. Our plants replaced them in the soil, so it is primary succession. However, it was not always good quality soil. Before it was made into a garden, the area was more or less not ideal for plants. People then put plants there, and the succession speed rate increased. It then turned to a nice soil garden and now houses many different organisms in the tiny garden ecosystem.

Joshua Post #3

This week, we went out to the garden and took observations about our cabbage plants. We noticed that they appeared to be growing in size. At this point, they are about 3 inches tall. The plant leaves appear to be getting bigger, at about 2 inches. The plants are a sort of light green color. Our plant is in competition as has some predation. Some leaves happened to have some sort of organism eating away at it, most likely a small caterpillar, as it they had tiny holes through it. Besides this, our plants are doing fine.

Our plants participate in the movement of water through the biosphere. For instance, our plants participate in the water cycle through the process of transpiration from their leaves. They also participate through root intake of precipitation. Our plants roles in the water cycle have a correlation with the changes we observed because the plants are taking up water/precipitation from their roots, to which they then use for the process of photosynthesis. Through this, they make sugars, which the plant then uses for food to grow. During photosynthesis, some water gets turned into oxygen and hydrogen ions. Some of that oxygen will be used by the plant's cells, and some will be released.  The water that our plant does not need is transpired.  Additionally, transpiration also allows for more growth because during the growing season, temperatures are higher, and transpiration allows for plant cooling, which then allows them to grow.

Our plants also participate in the movement of carbon in the biosphere. They participate in the movement because they do photosynthesis. This means they take in respirated carbon, eliminating some carbon in the cycle, and turning it into usable oxygen and food. This connects to our observations because they use that food to grow, and we observed growth. Additionally, they add carbon into the atmosphere through respiration and root respiration. They also participate because when they die their fossils get turned to fossil fuels and then the carbon gets emitted into the atmosphere. Finally, they also participate in the movement because when leaves die and fall off, they will be decomposed. The bacteria and fungi that decompose it will take in it's carbon, and leave some residue in the soil.

Our plants participate in the movement of nitrogen in the biosphere. They participate in the movement through symbiosis, nitrogen fixation, and by getting nitrogen from the soil and water. There is also nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in the roots of plants that turn nitrogen into ammonia, and then to nitrates. The nitrates provide the plant with nitrogen. They then get nutrients, which then helps them grow. They also participate in the movement of nitrogen through decomposition. When they die, they get decomposed and their nitrogen enters the cycle again. Finally, because plants can get eaten by animals, and then the animals get their nitrates, and when leaves are decomposed, the decomposers will take in it's nitrogen and also leave some residue in the soil.

Karishma post 4

Some biotic and abiotic factors that can affect our plants' growth include water air quality, temperature, sunlight, other similar plants that share the same niche as our cabbage plant, and birds, snails, and other similar animals. The abiotic factors: water, air quality, temperature, and sunlight are all crucial to the growth of plants. These are all necessary factors to grow a healthy plant. Biotic factors such as other nearing plants and animals affect the plants' ability to grow. Nearby plants restrict the amount of space a plant has to grow and other animals can eat the plant thereby restricting its growth.

We know that our cabbage plant is engaged in competition because of the other variety of plant life in the planter box. Some of the plants are cabbage but other plant species include kale, broccoli, and other miscellaneous weeds. These other plants are in need of the same resources as our cabbage plant. When two organisms are in need of the same things, they are engaged in competition. This is clear evidence that our plant is engaged in competition because they are competing for space and resources around them.

In this competition, the "winners" and "losers" are determined by the status of the plant. If a plant is living and healthy, it is a clear-cut winner. However, if it is dying that the plant has lost. However, it is always not all that easy to determine who wins or looses. In some instances, the plants show no signs of change. They are, of course, still engaged in competition, however, you can not tell who is winning or who is losing. When a plant shows no sign of change, it makes it pretty difficult to determine the winner or the loser

Along with the competition, our plants are involved in many other sorts of community interaction. For one, our plants participate in the food chain. There are multiple birds and small insects in our garden that feed on our plant. Our cabbage plant provides energy for the rest of the food chain. They are the producers for the whole food chain/web and the base of the pyramid. Earthworms and plants have a commensalism symbiotic relationship. Earthworms help increase the amount of air and water that enters the soil. They help break down organic matter into nutrients that the plants can use. Therefore, earthworms help plants grow. On the other hand, the worms eat the plant and get their energy from the plant. These are just two of the many interactions that our plant is involved with.

There is evidence of succession occurring in our garden. We know that succession is occurring because new plants keep on showing up in our garden. As time goes on, we find more plants coming up and previous plants growing bigger. Other insects and bugs also come in and live in the garden. There is a mini ecosystem developing in the garden. This is clearly secondary succession because there was soil, to begin with. When an ecosystem starts developing in an area without any soil it is known as primary succession. The process in which an ecosystem develops with soil in the presence is known as secondary succession.