A foam manufacturer wants advice on how to expand a latex solution in a shorter time. To do this we will experiment with catalase and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). We want to find out how to get the most oxygen possible in the shortest time so therefore make the latex solution expand as quickly as it can. To make the experiment fair we will change only one variable and leave the others all the same such as the temperature and the pH. We would first do a preliminary experiment to find out the smallest amount of catalase and hydrogen peroxide to use without the experiment taking too long to react. .
Plan.
The variable that I am going to keep the same is the concentration of the hydrogen peroxide. I would experiment with five different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and leave the concentration of the catalase constant. Each experiment I do will be done three times so that I can obtain an average, this would give me better results encase there were any anomalies. .
Apparatus.
The apparatus I would use for this experiment is:.
- Test tube .
- Test Tube rack. .
- Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 in different concentrations). .
- Stop watch. .
- Potato. .
- Beaker .
- Cork borer.
- Syringe.
- Water bath .
Method.
To do this experiment I would use 15 one-millimetre thick potato disks by cutting them, once taking the potato out by using a cork borer. I would use these 15 disks in all the experiments because the catalase will not run out but the hydrogen peroxide will. I will use a water bath to keep the temperature the same as usually enzymes work better with a higher temperature. I would use the 15 disks for fifteen experiments, 5 different experiments with each done three times to obtain an average. I would use 15 disks of potato and 10 ml of hydrogen peroxide in different concentrations (volumes), as when the preliminary was done with 10 disks the experiment was quite slow, so using 15 disks will make the experiment a bit faster.