A pupil performed an experiment in a school laboratory to show the action of a digestive enzyme on a food substance - Junior Cycle Science - Question (b) - 2008
Question (b)
A pupil performed an experiment in a school laboratory to show the action of a digestive enzyme on a food substance.
(i) Name an enzyme suitable for such an experim... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A pupil performed an experiment in a school laboratory to show the action of a digestive enzyme on a food substance - Junior Cycle Science - Question (b) - 2008
Step 1
i) Name an enzyme suitable for such an experiment.
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Answer
The enzyme suitable for this experiment is amylase. Amylase is responsible for breaking down starch into sugars.
Step 2
ii) Name a food substance on which the enzyme that you named will act.
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Answer
The food substance on which amylase will act is starchy food such as bread or potato.
Step 3
iii) Describe any preparation of the food required before the experiment is performed. If no preparation is required state why.
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To prepare the food, the starchy substance should be mixed with water, and if it's solid, it might need to be crushed or ground, similar to how it would be chewed. This increases the surface area for the enzyme to act effectively.
Step 4
iv) Give the temperature at which the enzyme-food mix should be maintained for the experiment to work.
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The enzyme-food mix should be maintained at a temperature of 37°C, which is the optimum temperature for amylase activity.
Step 5
v) How much time is needed for digestion of the food in this experiment?
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The digestion time needed for the food in this experiment is approximately 10 minutes to allow for sufficient reaction time.
Step 6
vi) Describe a test to confirm that digestion has occurred.
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Answer
To confirm digestion, iodine solution can be added to the mixture. If digestion has occurred, the mixture will not turn blue-black, indicating that starch is not present. Instead, it may stay yellow or orange if starch has been broken down into sugars.
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