Hey,
So I'm conducting an experiment to investigate the effect of temperature on enzyme activity. I will be using free and immobilised enzymes at temperatures of 40 and 80 degrees celsius, and measuring the pH changes over a period of 12 minutes. This will help me to determine how fast the enzymes are working. (The enzymes will hydrolyse lipids, releasing fatty acids which decreases the pH, thus making the solution more acidic).
However I need to plot a graph of my results, and I really don't understand how to!
I have my time (minutes) plotted along the x axis, and pH along the y axis. Surely this means that over time, the pH will decline?
I'm confused because my teacher drew the line as if the pH was increasing (becoming more alkaline)? Surely this can't be correct?
Even if intermediate temperatures were used, such as 50 degrees celsius, surely the pH would still decline, but not as much as it would at the enzymes' optimum temperatures?
Can anyone explain this to me? Or has my teacher made an error?