Tag: enzyme
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Investigation – Amylase and Carbohydrates
Are you looking for a way to give students a hands-on activity on biological macromolecules? This unit can be daunting for biology students because there is so much chemistry. This activity gives students a break from the vocabulary emphasis of the chapter and gets them into the lab and working with carbohydrates. Though I don’t…
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Lab: How Do Enzymes Work
Explore how enzymes work with this engaging lab. I redesigned this lab with freshman students in mind. The directions are simple. Students drop hydrogen peroxide onto raw liver, and observe the bubbling. The bubbles are oxygen as it is being released in the reaction. The lab handout includes a background section that explains how enzymes…
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Investigation: Apples and Pectinase Enzyme
In this experiment, high school students will investigate the role of enzymes by testing the effects of pectinase on apples. The objective is to compare the amount of juice extracted from apples treated with pectinase to those left untreated. In addition, students change the temperature of the solutions to compare enzyme activity at cold and…
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Case Study – Understanding Lactose Intolerance
I made this case study for freshman level biology to complement Ch 2: The Chemistry of Life. Students review the structure of atoms and molecules, then learn about biomolecules and enzymes. This case study explores the human side of enzymes and proteins. Specifically looking at how humans have a special enzyme, lactase, to digest milk…
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Enzyme and Substrate Concentrations
Students examine graphical models of enzyme and substrate interactions showing how the speed of reactions changes with concentration.
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Enzymes and Substrates – Coloring
A simple worksheet showing how enzymes bind to substrates to create products. Students color a graphic and answer questions.
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Identifying Penguin Species with Restriction Enzymes
In this simple exercise, students simulate how restriction enzymes and gel electrophoresis can be used to identify different species of penguins.
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Investigation: How Do Enzymes Affect Gelatin
This lab explores enzymes using fresh and canned pineapple to observe enzyme-substrate reactions.
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Amylase Enzyme and Copy Number Variant
This activity explores a data set on the frequency of copy number variants in the gene AMY1 that codes for amylase activity in the saliva. Amylase is an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar. The activity builds on the HHMI data point showing how presence of multiple copies of the gene correlate to populations…