This lab was meant to introduce students to a class of proteins called enzymes and how they function at different temperatures.
We looked at the enzyme peroxidase, which breaks hydrogen peroxide (a natural byproduct of biological reactions) in water and gaseous oxygen.
Students took 5 different potato slices each at a different temperature, added several drops of
hydrogen peroxide, timed how long the reaction happened for, and made a graph of their results.
We found that the enzyme works very slowly at lower temperatures, peaks at about room temperature, and stopped working over 70 degrees
Celsius due the heat breaking it down. Results for this lab were especially
good this year.