BRAINCAKEExam Style Question 2
A student investigated the effect of temperature on the activity of the enzyme amylase.
She put 5 cm3 of starch solution, 1 cm3 of buffer solution and 1 cm3 of amylase solution in separate tubes in a water bath at the test temperature for 5 minutes. She then mixed them.
Every 30 seconds she added one drop of the mixture to iodine solution on a spotting tile. She recorded the time taken until the iodine solution no longer turned blue-black.
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Key terms in this lesson
- hydrogen bond
- A weak electrostatic attraction between a slightly positive hydrogen atom on one polar molecule and a slightly negative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, on another.
- ionic bond
- A strong bond formed by the electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions.
- tertiary structure
- The further coiling and folding of a polypeptide into a specific three-dimensional shape, held by ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds and disulfide bridges between R-groups.
- active site
- The region of an enzyme, formed by the tertiary structure, with a shape complementary to its substrate, where the substrate binds.
- denaturation
- A permanent change to the tertiary or quaternary structure of a protein, caused by heat or pH extremes, that alters the shape of the active site so it is no longer complementary to its substrate.