What is the role of H2SO4 in this experiment?

What is the role of H2SO4 in this experiment?

It accelerates the reaction between enzyme and substrate.

It denatures the enzyme by altering the active site, stopping the reaction from continuing.

It binds with the remaining hydrogen peroxide during titration.

It is the substrate on which the catalyst acts.

1 answer

To accurately determine the role of H2SO4 in the experiment, let's analyze each option:

  1. It accelerates the reaction between enzyme and substrate. - This is generally not the primary role of sulfuric acid (H2SO4). While acids can sometimes affect the rate of reactions, in enzymatic reactions, this is typically not the case.

  2. It denatures the enzyme by altering the active site, stopping the reaction from continuing. - This is a valid role for H2SO4 in some contexts, as strong acids can denature enzymes by altering their structure and disrupting their active sites.

  3. It binds with the remaining hydrogen peroxide during titration. - This is also a plausible role. In a titration involving hydrogen peroxide, sulfuric acid can serve to neutralize or react with any remaining hydrogen peroxide, thereby being involved in the assessment of concentration.

  4. It is the substrate on which the catalyst acts. - This is incorrect, as H2SO4 is not a substrate for enzymatic reactions but rather an acid used to influence the reaction conditions.

Based on this analysis, the two most relevant roles for H2SO4 in many biochemical experiments involving enzymes and reactions with hydrogen peroxide would be options 2 (denaturing the enzyme) and 3 (binding with remaining hydrogen peroxide). Which role applies would depend on the specific details of the experiment being conducted. If you can provide more context about the experiment, I can help clarify further!