Activity 6: Investigate the effect of heat denaturation on the activity of an enzyme (catalase)

Chapter 7

Step 1

Cut 20 potato discs as a source of catalase

Step 2

Boil 10 of the potato discs for five minutes and leave the other 10 unboiled

Step 3

The unboiled discs will act as the control for comparison

Step 4

Add each set of discs to two identical tubes of catalase plus washing-up liquid plus pH buffer at 40°C

Step 5

measure the rate of enzyme activity by the height of foam after two minutes

Step 6

A typical result would be unboiled = 2cm of foam and boiled = 0 cm foam

Conclusion

Boiling has denatured the enzyme