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Enzymes - BIO105

Author: Wendy Dusek

Enzymes - Proteins that pack a punch!

Objectives:   This learning packet should:

  • Provide real world examples,  giving you an opportunity to experience how an enzyme works.
  • Introduce the new vocabulary and definitions, reiterating them throughout the lesson.
  • This packet integrates a means to actively engage in the material, watching a short video and predicting an outcome, and offers the opportunity to perform a safe experiment at home.

New Terms:  A few terms that may be new are:

  • Activation Energy
  • Enzyme
  • Substrate
  • Product
  • Catalyst
  • Active site
  • Synthesis
  • Hydrolysis

 You may want to review the packets on Cellular Structure and Proteins if these concepts aren't familiar to you.   

Source: Wendy Dusek

Enzymes - Proteins that pack a punch!

This power point presents an overview of Enzymes and how they function. Definitions of terms and examples are provided.

Source: Wendy Dusek

A brief experiment that explores the chemical reaction that can occur between an enzyme and a substrate.

This experiment is a quick example of how an enzyme and substrate react.
Add a few drops of Hydrogen Peroxide to a slice of raw potato and observe any visible changes.
What did you observe?
Why do you think that happened?


What do you think is the substrate?

What is the enzyme?

What is the product?

The Hydrogen peroxide is the substrate

(are you surprised?)

The enzyme is within the potato and is known as “catalase”

This enzyme is present to protect the potato from the oxygen in the air.

The bubbles occurred because the enzyme catalase broke down the oxygen in the hydrogen peroxide to a safer form of oxygen.

The bubbles indicated the product formed as a result of catalase (the enzyme) + hydrogen peroxide.

You can try this with a potato, or some other food item you wish to determine if that food item has catalase or not.

If your experiment of food + hydrogen peroxide produces bubbles, your food contains the enzyme catalase.

If no bubbles are formed, the enzyme catalase isn't present in that particular food.

Source: Wendy Dusek

Just a few more thoughts related to Enzymes

Please feel free to review as many times as you need to in order to better understand enzymes and how they work to speed a reaction.

Source: Wendy Dusek