Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions in living organisms. When an enzyme catalyzes a chemical reaction it speeds the reaction up so that it happens in a reasonable amount of time, and the enzyme itself is not changed. Chemical reactions occur within are bodies, one example is digestion. Many of the processes involved in breaking down the food you eat so that your body can use it are chemical reactions.

One class of enzymes is the proteases. The name protease means that these enzymes break down proteins into the protein building blocks that are called amino acids. Jell-O^TM is mostly a protein called gelatin. The rest is sugars, flavors and coloring. Some fruits contain proteases. When the fruit is added to the set Jell-O ^TM, we can observe the effects of the proteases on gelatin.

Due to the nature of the exercises, the file should be downloaded and opened with Microsoft Word.

– Watch an Enzyme Work (Microsoft Word)

– Watch and Enzyme Work (Web Format)

Microsoft Word Viewer (size: 3952016 bytes) is a free utility available for download from the Microsoft WWW site.