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Experiment Data Analysis

This experiment aimed to investigate the activity of catalase at different pH levels using 7 test tubes with varying pH and measuring the height of foam produced. The optimal pH for catalase activity was found to be 9, though limitations in the experiment's methodology reduced the reliability of the results. Improving measurement tools and standardizing procedures between groups could enhance future experiments.

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29 views

Experiment Data Analysis

This experiment aimed to investigate the activity of catalase at different pH levels using 7 test tubes with varying pH and measuring the height of foam produced. The optimal pH for catalase activity was found to be 9, though limitations in the experiment's methodology reduced the reliability of the results. Improving measurement tools and standardizing procedures between groups could enhance future experiments.

Uploaded by

ignas.cibe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Experiment data analysis

Procedure: Quantitative data:

 7 test tubes were prepared with a solute


of surfactant (3ml, 0.5% concentration),
CH3COOH (2 – 0ml, 5% concentration),
NaHCO3 (5%, 0 – 2ml concentration), and
liver solution (0.5ml, 10% concentration).
 pH levels of the test tubes were measured
using litmus paper.
 0,5 ml of 3% H2O2 solution in each test
tube was added.
 The height of the foam that emerged was
measured in millimetres.

Analysis and evaluation:


This experiment aimed to investigate the activity of catalase in differing pH levels. It poses
the question: what is the optimal pH for catalase?

The class was divided into five groups and followed the same instructions. The difference
between the groups was the way solute concentrations were calculated and the measuring tools that
were used. The independent variable was the pH levels, and the height of the emerged foam was the
dependent variable. pH levels were measured by comparing the colour that the litmus paper
transformed into to the universal indicator colours. This is a limitation of the experiment as the
human eye is not an accurate measurement tool. An alternative measuring tool could be a pH meter,
which is the most accurate pH measuring tool. The height of the foam was measured using a ruler,
with 1mm marks. Therefore, a deviation of up to 0.5mm is possible, which is represented by the
error bars in the graph. Additionally, the measurement of the height might differ among the groups
as some may have used test tubes of different volumes. This could have been fixed by distributing
the same tubes among the five groups. Additionally, one of the groups was not successful in
performing the experiment – no foam emerged in any of the 7 test tubes. This could be due to a
variety of factors, such as inaccurate calculations of solute concentrations, or inaccurate following of
the procedure. As a result, the results were removed from the database and not considered when
calculating the results, since it would bring the numbers unnecessarily closer to zero.

The obtained results were combined, and an average was estimated. The height of the foam
indicates the effectiveness of catalase activity. None of the groups recorded foam formed in test
tubes with pH values of 6 and 11, which greatly distorts the graph and does not show accurate
continuity of enzyme activity. pH values of 1 and 2 were not obtained at all. The foam height at levels
3 – 5 was no more than 0.3mm on average. Lower pH values indicate the solution as increasingly
acidic in which enzymes denaturate and lose function. The most optimal pH level for catalase seems
to be 9, with an average foam height of 26mm. However, the highest recorded foam height is 40mm
where the pH level of the solute is 10. This may be due to various factors discussed above (inaccurate
measuring of pH, difference in measuring tools, etc.) As the pH levels get increasingly basic (from 10
onwards), they deviate from the optimal pH level (seemingly 9) of catalase as seen in the graph
above.

The extent of this experiment’s success is rather limited. The relatively large group of people
should have resulted in high generalizability and validity of the results. However, the groups were not
able to cooperate in choosing the same measurement tools and agreeing on the same solute
concentration calculations (this was prohibited). As mentioned previously, the best accessible pH
measurement tool was litmus paper, which is inaccurate due to the imprecision of the human eye.
Some of the groups were unsuccessful in making catalase solutions due to uncrushed chunks of liver
or the accidental inclusion of unwanted substances. This is evident in the results, as students were
not able to obtain solutes with pH of 6 and 11, which is a huge distortion, because in some cases
foam emerged from test tubes with solute pH values of 3 and 12.

The improvement of this experiment stresses for consideration of the mentioned limitations.
Instead of litmus paper, a pH meter could have been organised. In addition, communication between
the groups would be a key change to the experiment, as different insights would be considered in the
process of calculation and measurement. This way, all of the groups would have agreed to use the
same measuring tools, in this case, rulers and test tubes. The repetition of this experiment would
ensure a greater understanding of the procedure among the researchers. Finally, the researchers
could have spent more time digging deeper into the understanding of the requirements.

Ignas Cibutavičius

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