Pop-it beads to introduce catalysis of reaction rate and substrate depletion effects.
A kinesthetic classroom activity was designed to help students understand enzyme activity and catalysis of reaction rate. Students served the role of enzymes by manipulating Pop-It Beads as the catalytic event. This activity illuminates the relationship between reaction rate and reaction progress by allowing students to experience first-hand the effect of substrate depletion on catalyzed reaction rate. Preliminary findings based on survey results and exam performance suggest the activity could prove beneficial to students in the targeted learning outcomes. Unique to previous kinesthetic approaches that model Michaelis-Menten kinetics, this activity models the effects of substrate depletion on catalyzed reaction rate. Therefore, it could prove beneficial for conveying the reasoning behind the initial rate simplification used in Michaelis-Menten kinetics. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(2):179-183, 2017.
Department of Science and Mathematics, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, 14623.
Austin U
0000-0002-9431-2261
AU
Gehret
D000465:Algorithms; D001671:Biochemistry / Q000193:education*; D002384:Catalysis; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004798:Enzymes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D018794:Problem-Based Learning / Q000379:methods*; D013334:Students; D013379:Substrate Specificity
D004798:Enzymes
Pop-It beads; classroom activity; enzyme catalysis; substrate depletion