Certain environmental changes can denature proteins. Denatured proteins lose their three dimensional structure and when the protein is an enzyme, they lose their ability to function. PH is just one factor that can change the effectiveness of an enzyme. What other factor might the students test regarding catalase specificity?

Catalase can be described as an enzyme that catalyses the conversion of hydrogen peroxide into hydrogen and oxygen.

Other than pH, other factors that might affect the catalase specificity are:

1. Temperature:

Very low or very high temperatures will cause the enzyme to get denatured, The active site of the catalases will not be able to fit the hydrogen peroxide molecules.

2. Presence of an inhibitor:

An inhibitor might get fit into the active site of the catalase hence blocking the site for hydrogen peroxide to fit into the active site of catalase.

Presence of an inhibitor for the catalase enzyme and high temperatures.

Explanation:

Catalase is an enzyme that catalyzes the decomposition of H₂O₂, giving O₂ and H₂.

In the presence of an inhibitor, the enzyme stops its activity, and the substrate can not join the catalase's active site.

The other factor that affects the specificity of the catalase is the temperature. Highs temperatures cause the loss of the quaternary, tertiary, and secondary structure, causing the interruption of the catalase activity.