Name:
Enzyme Activity
Date:
The graph below shows the rate of enzyme activity in relation to pH for two enzymes, pepsin and trypsin. Both
enzymes break down molecules in food taken into the human body. Answer the following questions below regarding
the graph:
1. What is the optimum pH in which pepsin works best under?
2. Does pepsin work best in an acidic or a basic environment?
3. What is the optimum pH in which trypsin works best under?
4. Does trypsin work best in an acidic or a basic environment?
5. The liquid in the stomach has a pH of about 2. Which of the two enzymes would be active in the stomach?
Support your answer.
6. The liquid in our small intestines has a pH of about 8. Which of the two enzymes would be active in the small
intestines? Support your answer.
7. Can pepsin and trypsin function in the same environment? Support your answer.
8. Is there a pH in which both trypsin and pepsin both operate at?
9. Which pH does neither enzyme function?