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qat qat
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10 years ago
Hey,
Recently in school, I did an experiment on how different concentrations of Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) affects the rate of an enzyme reaction. I did this by putting liver into different cylinders containing H2O2 @ 10%, 15%, 20%… up to 30%, then I measured the speed of the reaction by measuring (timing) the time it took for the bubbles created on the surface to reach a goal height on the cylinder.

I need to write a lab report on this, and my hypothesis is/was that 'the rate of the reaction got faster as the H2O2 got more concentrated' based on the time it took for the bubbles to rise. However, my hypothesis was completely wrong. As the H2O2 got more concentrated, the rate bubbles got slower. in my conclusion I need to state Why this happened??

I have my thoughts that maybe the more concentrated H2O2 is less reactive to bubbles, what I mean is that it might be like water with no soap, hard to create bubbles ,or that the outer layer of enzymes denatured very quickly creating a sort of protective layer around the rest of the liver??? Or is there a better more scientific explanation to this?
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10 years ago
Liver (and many other tissues and many organisms, including bacteria) have an enzyme called catalase, which breaks down hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2). The bubbles you see are oxygen gas. The chemical reaction is:

2 H2O2 =(catalase)=> 2 H2O + O2

Breaking down hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen is a two-step process. During this process, free radicals are formed, which have the ability to create havoc within the cell. If the liver is unable to deactivate and eliminate hydrogen peroxide, cells and body tissues may be harmed or poisoned, and thus be unable to carry out their vital cell processes.

Perhaps you can use this information to formulate a reason.
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Mastering in Nutritional Biology
Tralalalala Slight Smile
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10 years ago
thanks padre.
Machiavelli
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