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Liver Enzyme Lab 2024

This document describes an experiment to study the enzyme catalase found in liver cells. Students will observe the rate of bubble production from hydrogen peroxide breaking down when combined with liver samples under different conditions like heating, cooling, or changing pH, to understand how these conditions affect the enzyme's activity.

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23 views3 pages

Liver Enzyme Lab 2024

This document describes an experiment to study the enzyme catalase found in liver cells. Students will observe the rate of bubble production from hydrogen peroxide breaking down when combined with liver samples under different conditions like heating, cooling, or changing pH, to understand how these conditions affect the enzyme's activity.

Uploaded by

bb
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Liver Enzyme Lab


Name: _________________________ Class: _____________ Date: ______________
Introduction: What would happen to your cells if they made a poisonous chemical? You might think that they
would die. In fact, your cells are always making poisonous chemicals. They do not die because your cells use
enzymes to break down these poisonous chemicals into harmless substances. Enzymes are proteins that speed
up the rate of reactions that would otherwise happen more slowly. The enzyme is not altered by the reaction.
You have hundreds of different enzymes in each of your cells.
Each of these enzymes is responsible for one particular reaction that occurs in the cell. In this lab, you will
study an enzyme that is found in the cells of many living tissues. The name of the enzyme is catalase (KAT-
uh-LAYSS); it speeds up a reaction which breaks down hydrogen peroxide, a toxic chemical, into 2 harmless
substances--water and oxygen

The reaction is: 2 H2O2 ----> 2 H2O + O2 + energy


This reaction is important to cells because hydrogen peroxide is produced as a byproduct of many normal
cellular reactions. If the cells did not break down the hydrogen peroxide, they would be poisoned and die. In
this lab, you will study the catalase found in liver cells. You will be using pork liver. It might seem strange
to use dead cells to study the function of enzymes. This is possible because when a cell dies, the enzymes
remain intact and active for several weeks, as long as the tissue is kept refrigerated.

Materials:
● 3% Hydrogen peroxide Knife
● Pork liver Petri dish
● Test tubes Timer
● Forceps
● Acidified liver
● Basified liver

Procedure:
1. Predict the rate of bubbles formed for each of the following condition:

Condition Hypothesis
Normal liver + H202

Cold liver + H202

Heated liver + H202

Acidified liver + H202

Basified liver + H202

2. Take 2 test tubes A and B.


3. Add 5 ml of 3% Hydrogen peroxide in test tubes A and B for each of the conditions as shown in the
data table below.
4. Use a knife to cut the pork liver into two cubes of 1cm x 1cm size for each of the conditions as
shown in the data table and place it on a petri dish.
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5. Use forceps and add one cube of the liver in test tube A and record the time and rate of bubbles
produced.
6. Cut the other cube of liver further into 4 smaller pieces and add them into test tube B and record the
time and rate of bubbles produced.
7. Repeat the steps 5 and 6 for other conditions as shown in the data table
8. Record the following the data

Two measurements will be taken in the experiments. Record the time lapsed from the time the bubble
started (reaction start) to the time the bubble stopped (reaction finished) and observe the rate of bubbles
produced by giving a score of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. A rating of 1 for the least vigorous reaction and 5 being the
most vigorous reaction.
DATA TABLE 1.
Conditions Time lapsed (seconds) Rating of bubbles produced

Test tube A Test tube B Test tube A Test tube B


Normal liver + H202

Cold liver + H202

Heated liver + H202

Acidified liver + H202

Basified liver + H202

Conclusion and Analysis:


1. What is the name of the enzyme used in this reaction? _____________________________________
2. What is the substrate of the reaction? ___________________________________________________
3. What is the product of the reaction? ____________________________________________________
4. How are the bubbles produced related to the product of the reaction?
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. Is catalase reusable? How can you use the experiment and its result to explain this?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
6. What conclusions can you draw about how the enzymes in the liver work in each of the different
conditions?

a. Normal liver & H202:


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b. Cold liver & H202:
______________________________________________________________________________
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c. Heated liver & H202:
______________________________________________________________________________
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d. Acidified liver & H202:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
e. Basified liver & H202:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

7. Which condition is the best for this enzyme to effectively catalyze their reaction? Why? Use the data
from the experiment to support your answer.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
8. What is your observation and conclusion about test tubes A and B for each of the conditions?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
9. In the space provided, write the analysis and conclusion of the lab as if you were writing it in the lab
report.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
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