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
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