Factors affecting activities of enzymes in the body

Abstract

The bodies of living things are composed of cells. The cells do undergo the body metabolic activities which are very fundamental for the maintenance of the life of the living thing (Hanzhang, 2006). Metabolic rate is defined as the amount of energy an organism consumes within a given time. The metabolic reactions in the body need to be sped up by the actions of the enzymes present in the body cells. However, metabolic rates are dependent on various factors like temperature and amount of food among others. In many cases, the functions of the enzymes have been faced with various environmental conditions which then affect their final efficiency and outcome. This experiment is therefore conducted to make out the effects of the variations in the level of temperature on the actions of the enzyme’s activity. Since the rate of enzyme action is dependent on the metabolic rate, the experiment directly determines metabolic rates.

Introduction

Enzymes are organic materials found within the living cells of the body to majorly act as the catalysts to the body chemical reactions. The major work of the enzymes in the body is to catalyze the rates of reactions which take place in the body, though they do not take part in such chemical reactions, that is, they are not used chemically in the reactions hence they are special kinds of organic materials. The living cells in the body are ever undergoing chemical changes so as to remain a life, and the work of these enzymes is to ensure that there is low activation energy for the body reactions so as to make the reactions run faster. Higher CO₂ levels confirm that there is increased metabolic rate and lower CO₂ confirms the reverse.

 

The high amounts of CO₂ in the body leads to increased pH. The lower pH indicates that the medium is acidic. Since acid has effects on the enzymes activities, the lower the pH the lower the enzyme activities. When the amount of CO₂ reduces, the acidity decreases. The reduced acidity makes the medium to have more solutes and hence it withdraws water from the enzymes leading to their dehydration. The enzymes cannot work better at these pHs contributed by the increased carbon (IV) oxide.

 

This experiment is therefore carried out to make out the factors which may influence the activities of the enzymes in their work of catalyzing the rates of reactions in the body. The major focus is placed on the effects of changes on temperature in the environment of the enzymes affects their activity. There are various ways of determining the rate of metabolic rates in the body including the rate at which oxygen is consumed in the body.

 

The amount of CO2 was measured and translated to be the pH since CO₂ is acidic. Knowing the total volume of air breathed, the time taken, and the concentration of CO₂ it was easy to calculate metabolic rate. In order to determine the metabolic rates in different person, the various amounts of CO₂ produced were examined. It is evident that CO₂ produced and metabolic rates are directly proportional. When CO₂ is increased, the acidity of the solution is increased and so affects the metabolic rates. Very high amounts of CO₂ make the medium acidic and hence denature the enzymes and so reduction in metabolic processes (Aching’, 2009). The experiment is therefore relevant with metabolic rates and temperature used to measure the metabolic rates of different persons. The tabulation of the amount of carbon (IV) oxide and oxygen exhaled during the process was important as it assisted in determining the metabolic rates directly. The results are confirmed using pH and temperatures in measuring the metabolic rates.

 

The basal metabolic rate is expressed as kcal/m2 of body surface area/hour calculated as

 

Methods/Procedure

The experiments were done by varying the conditions and temperatures and subjecting the enzymes to the changes in the conditions. The experiment showed that the enzyme actions are most active at the pH close to seven which is relatively the closer pH of the body. Extremes of pH lower the levels of enzyme activity. Temperature experiment, however, did not show the expected results possibly die to the errors made in making of the experiment samples and arrangements or reading of the experiment scores.

 

The valve-mouthpiece was connected to Douglas bag so that you inspire atmospheric air and expire into the Douglas bag

 

1. The bags were breathed into until they were full
2. Volume of expired in was measured using “gas meter”. The volume of CO₂ exhaled was determined of a time interval of 60 seconds. The results are recoded in table 1.2.
3. A representative sample was taken into small sample bag and the proportion of oxygen in the inspired air was measured
4. The procedure was repeated with persons exercising vigorously for 5 minutes
5. The amount of CO₂ was measured for a period of 60 minutes from exercise and during rest. The results are tabulated in the following table.

 

Method:

This experiment was designed and conducted to find out how the changes in the amount of CO₂ produced and the temperature as any change in the environment of the enzyme would affect the enzyme activities. It was carried out for a total of sixty seconds with the measurements taken and recorded after every six seconds. After which, a series of similar experiment was conducted as the amount of CO₂ increased and the levels increased to 2, 7, and 10 and temperature was adjusted to 4°C, 22°C, and 37°C.

 

Results

Table 1.0

	Before  exercise	After exercise
Time (min)	3	3
No of breath (per min)	16	30
Volume of expired air (L)	110	115
% of O2 in expired air	17.20	15.90
% of CO2 in expired air	4.2	5.10
Volume of O2 expired (L)	18.92   (17.2/100)*110	18.285   (15.9/100)*115
Volume of CO2 expired (L)	4.62   (4.2/100)*110	5.865   (5.1/100)*115
O2 atmosphere	19.60%
CO2 atmosphere	1.50%
N2 atmosphere	78.9%   100-(O2+CO2)
Body surface area	2.30 m2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RQ =

Respiratory Question before and after the exercise differs due to the changes in amounts of O₂ and CO₂ consumed and produced. Before the exercise, less oxygen was consumed and so less expired due to low metabolic rates. After the exercise, the rate of metabolism increased and there was a need to consume more oxygen and expires more CO₂.

If 21% of oxygen is inhaled and 16% is exhaled, that means 5% of oxygen is used.

RQ (before) = 4.2/5

RQ before exercise = 0.8440

RQ after exercise is =5.10/5 = 1.02. During the exercise, the body needs a lot of energy and so increased consumption of oxygen to increase energy. The amount of CO₂ produced increase (for example before exercise the amount of CO₂ produced was 4.2% but after exercise, the value rose to 5.1%). The body needs a lot of energy after or during exercise and hence the increase in the respiratory quotient. During exercise, nearly all proteins in the body are respired to produce energy and it happens that some fats are respired as well. Since the amount of CO₂ exhaled increases during the exercise, and since RQ is directly proportional to CO₂ produced, hence increase in the respiratory quotient. The amount of energy produced increases. The respiratory quotient is directly proportional to amount of energy produced.

 

Respiratory quotient is for before exercise is 0.24 and after exercise is 0.32.

 

Metabolic rate =  = 8.23

CO2 levels on the person immediately after exercise Table 1.2
Time (secs)	Resting person	Exercising persons
0	0.626	0.263
6	0.629	0.524
12	0.682	0.744
18	0.699	0.916
24	0.651	1.048
30	0.613	1.150
36	0.671	1.229
42	0.623	1.295
48	0.667	1.356
54	0.607	1.410
60	0.647	1.464

 

Graph showing the amounts of CO₂ exhaled against time

The red loine shows the behaviour of the amounts of CO₂ exhaled after exercise while the bule show the amounts of CO₂ exhaled for a resting person. The garph of the amounts of CO₂ exhaled increaseses teadily and then starts dropping. During the exercise, the body needed a lot of energy and hence increase in the metabolic rates that in trun lead to increasec production of CO₂. After the exercise, the amount of enegy needed gradually decaresed and this reverse the process. The amount of consumed Oxygen decreased and hence the decarese in the amounts of produced CO₂.

 

Table 1.3

CO2 produced at resting/exercise
Volume of O2 expired (L)	18.92/18.285
Volume of CO2 expired (L)	4.62/5.865

 

The table 1.5 showing the result of expired oxygen

Time (sec)	Resting o2	Exercise o2
0	0.044	0.263
6	0.043	0.339
12	0.042	0.383
18	0.042	0.401
24	0.044	0.441
30	0.044	0.541
36	0.044	0.587
42	0.046	0.586
48	0.045	0.592
54	0.046	0.634
60	0.046	0.664

The oxygen consumed by the resting person remains constant but varies due to environmental and body factors. Due to the increased amount of energy needed after and during the exercise, the amount of oxygen consumed increased and so the amount expired. The graph of the amount of oxygen expired by the person under exercise increase while for the resting person nearly remains constant.

 

Discussion

From the experiment, it can be found out that the optimum temperatures and amount of CO₂ produce when there is a normal or when the person is resting nearly remains constant. Both internal and external temperatures have effects on the metabolic rates of an organism. When an organism is exposed to cold environment, the body reacts by increasing the metabolic rate to supply the extra heat needed to maintain the body’s internal temperature (Jorge, 2010). Exercise increased metabolic rates and so increase in body temperature. The higher temperatures in turn increased the enzyme activities. Short exposure to high temperatures has less impact on the body’s metabolism as it is compensated by increase in the heat lost to the environment form the body. When an organism is exposed to heat for long the metabolic rate increases.

 

Enzymes, therefore, have an optimum temperature of about 37 degrees Celsius and a pH level of about 7 and this is obtained when the body is at rest. This is evident with the person resting as opposed to the person exercising. These are the conditions commonly considered to be the Norman conditions and are generally referred to as the standard conditions for the enzyme activity (Westerterp, 2006). It is also important to note that drastic change in the pH and temperatures level can deform the enzyme and make then nonfunctional.

 

After exercise, the temperature increased. Since enzymes are dependent on the temperature. The increased temperature increased their activities in the body. More food was broken down and so the need for excess oxygen and thus CO₂ produced also increased. This is evident with the second person (after going through the exercise) that his level of CO₂ increased from 0.263 to 1.464 over a period of 60 seconds. On the contrary, the amount of CO₂ produced by the resting person fairly remained constant. Though there existed fluctuation that might have been contributed by various factors like change in temperature (atmospheric) among other factors. The result, therefore, confirms that increased temperature has effects on pH and therefore metabolic rates.

 

Enzymes are protein-based biological catalysts needed by human body cells to speed up chemical reactions and are affected by temperature variances (Jorge, 2010). Their roles range from speeding up chemical reactions in the cells to ridding off waste products from the cells. Enzymes speed up all chemical reactions that take place in cells of human body. Metabolic enzymes speed up conversion of the digested food into new body structures such as flesh, muscle, nerves, glands and bones with the release on energy.

 

With enzyme-catalyzed reactions, although the rate at which the reaction comes to equilibrium increases with temperatures, there is a second effect of temperatures; denaturation of the enzyme protein, leading to irreversible loss of activity. However, dipping the hands in water of 40⁰C cannot denature the enzymes and so the possibility of the experiment. The hands were thus never burnt or harmed.

 

The enzymes in the body have special shapes and always work on and changes specific substances called the substrates. During the time of the chemical change of the substrates, enzymes must come into contact with them at the places called the active sites (Hanzhang, 2006). It is important to note that the substrate and the enzyme must have conformity in their structures and shapes so that they fit well into one another for efficient changes. Once the change of the substrate is complete, the enzyme is detached from the substrate and regains its original shape ready for a new substrate. This means that in most cases, enzymes are reusable and are very adaptable to the substrates (McKay, 2009).

 

Conclusion

From the experiment conducted, it is possible to note that the amount of CO₂ produced effect on the enzymes activity and this also confirms the results. Though the results in this particular experiment were not as drastic as expected, it shows the highest activity of the enzymes occur when the body is under exercise. When the person starts doing exercise, the amount of oxygen and carbon (IV) oxide produced increases. This is an indication that when more energy is needed, a person has to consume much oxygen for all the metabolic processes.  The results obtained when considering oxygen gave the results that confirmed the results. The experiment concerning the temperature changes were far off the expected results (Jorge, 2010). The wide deviations of the temperature results of the experiment from what is normally expected can be attributed to human errors which might have been incurred during the conduction of the experiments in the laboratory and in making the samples.

 

Relevance

It cannot be disputed that enzymes are very important for all the body metabolic activities. These metabolic activities are very crucial in the body functionality and maintenance of the life. Given the right conditions of temperatures and the pH, enzymes reduce the activation barrier between them and the substrates. They thus come into contact with the substrate, and amicably change them but they remain unchanged (Westerterp, 2001). Provision of diverse conditions of temperature and pH, however, leads to the deformation of the shapes of the enzymes and as a result they would not be able to come in to close contact with the substrate to change them.

 

The gist concept of this experiment is to bring about the correlation between the enzyme activity and the changes in the enzyme environment (McKay, 2009). A close focus in placed on the particular effects of the pH and temperature influences on the enzyme activity. The fact that enzymes are found within the body of the living things, the effects of temperature and pH on the enzyme activity would reveal a close correlation of the possible effects the body is likely to undergo whenever it is exposed to the extreme and diverse cases of pH and environmental changes (Westerterp, 2001).

Health is a condition of complete bodily, psychological, and social welfare and not simply the absence of frailty or disease. Several avenues are available to realize this state and they all work together including temperature plus other factors. Health is very important and yet individual health is something a lot of people ignore or even neglect. The important principles to supporting good health is by Learning more concerning your health, increasing knowledge of your own situation and living a reasonable life. The experiment is vital as it helps illustrate the amount of work that one person can be able to do and the temperatures.

Today, nursing gives broadening scope of chance for skilled service and development. The trend is not to move towards what is sentimental or traditional but rather to what is meaningful and practical.  There are three major relations that are well-known such as the patients surrounding, nurse’s environment and the nurse to the client (McKay, 2009). For instance the requirement for light, temperature in particular is second only to the requirement for aeration. If essential the nurse ought to move the client above after the sun in accordance to the features of the rooms, if situations allow, than let him remain in a room when the sun is off. The experiment helps in determining the correct and appropriate temperature that will not denature the enzymes in the hospital rooms (Jorge, 2010).

The patients need to know the issues relating to their metabolic rates, weight and cholesterol management and other issues related to diabetes. It is thus the big role of nurses to guide their patients in lifestyle modification and change from the authoritative and instructive traditional methods of relating with medical practitioners educating them on how to manage the chronic diseases (McKay, 2009). It has been noted that the best way to manage the diseases is by involving the patients in the important choices that have to be made as compared to forcing ideas into their lives because chances are that they will not be part of the exercise as it does not make sense to them. Nurses and other physicians are of the idea that patients have a responsibility of making lifestyle decisions that affect their health but they would not know exactly what is expected of them unless they are taken through the basics of understanding their role and responsibilities through health counseling.

 

Limitations of the experimental procedure and the calculations

1. The study is limited to two people, the resting and the person after exercising.
2. The measurements were never accurate of had low accuracy levels. The relation between the amounts of air breathed out and in might not directly depend on the metabolic rate of the organism. The relation might depend on other factors as well but in this case, it is assumed that they are directly proportional (Westerterp, 2001).
3. Rounding off reduced the accuracy of the data obtained. Most data were either rounded off or truncated and this reduces the result accuracy.
4. The experiment lacked control. It is expected that other factors must have affected the experiment and the control measures were never taken into consideration. This is to say that the experiment must have been affected by external factors. However, with the reference, it can be assumed that similar factors affected both the two persons and so their effects neutralized.

Bibliography

McKay, M. (2009). Effects of spinal anaesthesia on resting metabolic rate and quadriceps mechanomyography. Springer-Verlag, 25 March 2009 / Published online.

 

 

Westerterp, K. (2001). Limits to sustainable human metabolic rate. Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University.

 

 

Hanzhang L. et al. (2010). Alterations in Cerebral Metabolic Rate and Blood Supply across the Adult Lifespan. Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.

 

 

Jorge S. (2010). Understanding the energetic costs of living in saline environments: effects of salinity on basal metabolic rate, body mass and daily energy consumption of a long-distance migratory shorebird. The University of Extremadura.

 

---

Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply

Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?

Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.

Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?

• Plagiarism free papers
• Timely delivery
• Any deadline
• Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
• Subject-relevant academic writer
• Adherence to paper instructions
• Ability to tackle bulk assignments
• Reasonable prices
• 24/7 Customer Support
• Get superb grades consistently

 

Online Academic Help With Different Subjects

Literature

Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.

Finance

Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.

Computer science

Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!

Psychology

While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.

Engineering

Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.

Nursing

In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.

Sociology

Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.

Business

We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!

Statistics

We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.

Law

Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.

What discipline/subjects do you deal in?

We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.

Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?

Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.

What if I don’t like the paper?

There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.

Reasons being:

• When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
• We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.

In the event that you don’t like your paper:

• The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
• We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
• Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.

Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?

Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.

What if the paper is plagiarized?

We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.

When will I get my paper?

You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.

Will anyone find out that I used your services?

We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.

How our Assignment  Help Service Works

1.      Place an order

You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.

2.      Pay for the order

Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.

3.      Track the progress

You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.

4.      Download the paper

The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!

---