Amylase Experiment

The main focus of this experiment was to find the relationship between temperature and the enzyme activity of amylase. This was achieved by attaining amylase enzyme, starch solution and potassium iodide (determines if enzymes hydrolyses the starch solution), water bath and a hot plate. The temperatures used for this experiment were room temperature, 37oC, 60oC, 80oC, and 90oC. The hypothesis developed was that as the temperature increased, so will enzyme activity. Therefore, the ability of the enzyme to break down the starch solution will occur at a faster rate because of the increased temperature. However, the enzyme will begin to denature if temperatures are over 50-60oC.

Throughout the course of this experiment, a number of results were recorded and data tables and graphs have been formed after testing the enzyme activity at the
temperatures of 21°C, 37oC, 60oC, 80oC, and 90oC. As it can be seen from the results, there are a number of noticeable trends.

When looking at graph 1 of the results, there is an obvious trend that occurred throughout the course of this experiment.
It can be seen that at room temperature, the amylase enzyme took 280 seconds to breakdown the starch solution. The room temperature was at 21°C. The reason why the enzyme took longer to breakdown the starch solution, as opposed to the other temperatures, was because the temperature was too low for the enzyme to work at its optimum rate. However, when the temperature was increased to 37oC, the enzyme took 17 seconds to breakdown the starch solution (refer to graph 1). The enzyme broke down the starch solution at a significantly faster rate than the room temperature was because when the temperature was increased, the enzyme activity also increased. The collision of molecules between the substrate and the enzyme become more frequent, therefore breaking down the starch at a more rapid rate. In addition, the optimum temperature for amylase enzyme to work is at 37oC (BBC, 2015). When the temperatures were increased to 60oC, 80oC, and 90oC, the enzyme took longer or did not break down the starch
solution.

The results were as expected as the enzyme activity increased with temperature, therefore breaking down the starch solution at a faster rate, but the enzyme begins to become inactive (denatured) when temperatures reach over 50-60oC.

During the experiment, there were some experimental errors that emerged, which could have been prevented by taking more appropriate actions to attain more accurate results. This experiment can be improved by maintaining the temperature for the trials of 60oC, 80oC, and 90oC. Throughout the course of this experiment, these temperatures were not constant as the temperatures had a reduction of approximately 3-4oC. This may have impact the results as the enzyme activity would have decreased due to the reduction in temperature. The decreased activity of the enzyme will have caused the enzyme to break down the starch solution at a slower rate. Another factor which may have affected the results of this experiment was the measurement of the solutions. During some trials, the volume of the solutions were either too little or excessive. This may have influenced the results as it might have made it longer for the enzyme to break down the starch solution. In future, use the correct measuring instruments to measure the volume needed. Another way this experiment can be improved is to have more trials of the different temperatures tested. For this experiment, there was only one trial for each temperature, so having more trials will give out more accurate results.

The findings of this investigation would be significant to the modern day society, alcohol manufacturing companies, the consumer and also scientists.