An experiment was conducted to measure the reaction rate of the human salivary enzyme a-amylase. Ten mL of a concentrated starch solution and 1.0 mL of a-amylase solution were placed in a test tube. The test tube was inverted several times to mix the solution and then incubated at 25°C. The amount of product (maltose) present was measured every 10 minutes for an hour.
The results are given in the table below.
Time (minutes)
Maltose
Concentration (uM)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
5.1
8.6
11.5
(a) Graph the data on the axes provided and calculate the rate of the reaction for the time period 0 to 30 minutes.
(b) Explain why a change in the reaction rate was observed after 30 minutes.
(c) Draw and label another line on the graph to predict the results if the concentration of a-amylase was doubled.
Explain your predicted results.
(d) Identify TWO environmental factors that can change the rate of an enzvme-mediated reaction. Discuss how each of those two factors would affect the reaction rate of an enzyme.