Amount of Enzymes to break down Sucrose

[shania470]

Hi, this is for my eighth grade science project which is due super soon! And I would be really apreciative if anyone took the time to answer my questions!


What is the ratio of sucrose (sugar) to the enzyme being used to potentially break it down?


And also, how much time should I give for the enzyme to break down the sucrose?


Please reply/ answer

~ Shania470

[deleted-80002]

Hi shania470,

This sounds like an interesting topic. Could you answer a copule questions so I can better help you?

What enzyme are you using? Is it one that breaks sucrose down into glucose? It is very important that you know the chemical reaction that your enzyme participates in. One example is the enzyme sucrase. It catalyzes the reaction between sucrose and water resulting in glucose and fructose. Here is a web page that describes that:

http://bio1151.nicerweb.com/Locked/medi ... crase.html

The ratio of sucrose to enzyme will be dependent on how you set up your reaction. For example, if you dissolve 1g of sucrose into 10mL of water and then add 1mg (0.001g) of enzyme your ratio will be 1g sucrose/0.001g of enzyme; or 1000 (your units cancel out).

The amount of time you should allow will depend on the activity of your enzyme, how much enzyme you use, and how much sucrose you put in your reaction. When you purchase enzymes they should come labeled with some kind of activity measurement. If you tell me where your enzyme is from I can help you figure out what the activity is.

Here is a Science Buddies project with another enzyme catalase. Looking at this project should give you an idea about how to work with an enzyme.
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p011.shtml

Kierstyn
Kierstyn