AP Biology Enzyme Lab
Introduction: Hydrogen peroxide is formed as a waste product of metabolism in many living organisms. It is toxic and must be quickly converted into other, less dangerous chemicals. To manage this problem, the enzyme catalase is frequently used to rapidly catalyze the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into harmless oxygen gas and water. Catalysis is the acceleration of a chemical reaction by means of a substance, called a catalyst that is itself not consumed by the overall reaction. Catalase has one of the highest turnover rates for all enzymes; one molecule of catalase can convert 83,000 molecules of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen per second.
Enzymes are biological catalysts. Enzymes are vital to such bodily functions as digestion, and they make possible processes that normally could not occur except at temperatures so high they would threaten the well-being of the body.
The catalase test is done by adding hydrogen peroxide to an organism. If......
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