Question

catalase is an enzyme normally found in plant and animal tissues. the biological purpose of catalase is to destroy toxic substances that may be introduced into cells. in lab, students used potato cores as a catalase source and investigated the effects of different environmental conditions on the action of this enzyme. catalase catalyzes the following reaction: 2 h₂o₂→2 h₂o + o₂ the development of oxygen gas (product) can be observed by the foam produced in a test tube. to study the effects of environmental conditions on the enzyme, catalase, students placed potato cubes into test tubes containing different solutions, added 3 ml of h₂o₂ and measured the height of the foam (indicating o₂ gas produced) over 5 minutes. what conclusion can be drawn? and sub - optimal conditions can cause an enzyme to lose its ability to bind to a substrate. students tested the function of catalase in acid and basic solutions. the results are in the table provided: solution orange juice vinegar water baking soda solution ammonia coffee milk ph 3 2 7 9 11 5 6.5 amount of bubbling (5 minutes) 0 cm 0 cm 4 cm 3 cm 0 cm 3 cm 4 cm a catalase only works at a neutral ph and is broken down by strong acids. b catalase has an optimal ph range of 5 - 9 and is broken down by solutions outside of this range. c catalase has an optimal ph range of 5 - 9 and is denatured by both strong acids and strong bases. d catalase functions optimally at a ph of 7 and does not function when the ph is more acidic or

Explanation:

Enzymes like catalase have optimal pH ranges. Looking at the table, when the pH is 7 (neutral - water) and 6.5 (milk), there is bubbling (indicating reaction). Catalase works in these near - neutral pHs. For very acidic (vinegar - pH 2, orange juice - pH 3) and very basic (ammonia - pH 11) solutions, there is no or very little bubbling. This shows that catalase has an optimal pH range (around 5 - 9 as seen from milk (pH 6.5), coffee (pH 5) also having some reaction and water (pH 7) having good reaction).

Answer:

B. Catalase has an optimal pH range of 5 - 9 and is broken down by solutions outside of this range.