Enzyme Activity
Investigating how temperature and pH affect enzyme reaction rate, e.g. amylase breaking down starch.
STATUS
This lab is in development.
When complete, this will be a guided, step-by-step 3D simulation of the real biology practical. For now, you can read exactly what the simulation will cover below.
What you’ll do
The guided simulation will walk you through these steps in order.
- 01Prepare a series of water baths at different temperatures (e.g. 10°C, 20°C, 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, 60°C).
- 02Place test tubes containing 1% starch solution into the water bath for 5 minutes to equilibrate.
- 03Add a measured volume of amylase solution to each starch tube; mix and restart the timer.
- 04At regular intervals (e.g. every minute), remove one drop from each tube and test with iodine on a spotting tile.
- 05Record the time taken for the blue-black colour to no longer appear (starch fully digested).
- 06Plot reaction rate (1/time) against temperature; identify the optimum temperature.
- 07Repeat the experiment varying pH (using buffer solutions) while keeping temperature constant, to investigate pH effects.