Question

1) Where is salivary amylase normally found in the human body? What is the pH approximately in that location?

2) What are controls and why do you need controls?

Thank you

Answer 1

1.

• Salivary amylase is an enzyme in the mouth produced by salivary gland
• It initiates the digestion of carbohydrates in the form of starches by catalyzing the hydrolysis of polysaccharides into disaccharide.
• The optimum pH for the enzymatic activity ofsalivary amylase ranges from 6 to 7.
• Above and below this range, the reaction rate reduces as enzymes get denaturated.
• The enzyme salivary amylase is most active at pH 6.8

2.

• An control is used in scientific experiments to minimize the effect of variables which are not the interest of the study.
• The control can be an object, population, or any other variable which a scientist would like to “control.”
• The function of an experimental control is to hold constant the variables that an experimenter isn’t interested in measuring.
• This helps scientists ensure that there have been no deviations in the environment of the experiment that could end up influencing the outcome of the experiment, besides the variable they are investigating.