Effect of pH on amylase activity
There are three parts to this assignment
Part One (planning and risk assessment) – about 200 to 300 words
The ability of amylase to act as a catalyst enabling the reaction of starch with water (breaking starch molecules down into sugars) depends on the pH of the solution.
You need to devise a method to investigate how pH affects the activity of amylase.
You should try to address the following questions in your plan:
How will you control the independent variable (the pH of the solution)?
How will you measure the dependent variable, the activity of the enzyme (i.e., how quickly the starch is being broken down into sugars)?
Which variables will be controlled? (anything else other than pH that might affect the rate at which starch is broken down).
What range of pH values will you investigate?
How many different pH values will you investigate?
What scale will you work at – how much of each chemical will you need?
What pieces of equipment are best for the work that you want to do? You should specify the size if you can (e.g., instead of saying “use a beaker”, say “use a 100 ml beaker”)
You will need to do some background research and reading and cite all the sources that you use in the correct Harvard format.
When you have completed the plan, write a risk assessment.
Try not to exceed 300 words for this part
You must submit the proposed method and risk assessment before carrying out the practical
Part Two (collecting data)
You will be given a method to follow to collect data about the activity of enzymes at different pH values. It may be different to the one that you planned, but you must follow the supplied method rather than your own to collect data. You should work carefully as part of the assessment is to demonstrate your ability to use laboratory equipment correctly to measure accurate data.
Part Three (reporting and reflecting) – about 300 to 450 words
You should write a brief report analysing the data collected and compare the method that you were given to the one that you planned yourself.
