Test to see if surface area affects )2 production

Aim

To investigate what affect the surface area of potato (raw) has on the production of oxygen.

Introduction

Plant cells in potato have an enzyme called catalase which turns bleach (H2O2) hydrogen peroxide into O2 and H2O. Catalase is the fastest working enzyme and is found in many living things, it speeds up the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide, and the bubbles released are O2. The reaction taking place is 2H2O2 = 2H2O + O2.

Prediction

I predict that the higher the surface, the more oxygen given off per unit time. This is because there is a larger amount of potato in contact with the hydrogen peroxide; this means there is a larger area for the hydrogen peroxide to crash into the enzyme molecules active site. This in turn means more oxygen will be given off.

Apparatus

The Apparatus needed to conduct this experiment is…

• A Boiling Tube
• A Delivery Tube (With Rubber Bu...