Enzyme activity against pH: pepsin, amylase and trypsin

An example figure from the Enzyme Activity generator.

Graph of rate of reaction against pH with no numbers on the axes: three bell-shaped curves, pepsin (solid blue) peaking at pH 2, salivary amylase (dashed red) at pH 7 and trypsin (dotted green) at pH 8, each peak marked with a dot, a dashed line down to the pH axis and the label Optimum, and a key under the graph — The rate of reaction against pH for three digestive enzymes, drawn as shapes with no numbers on the axes. Pepsin (solid blue) works best at about pH 2, as in the stomach, salivary amylase (dashed red) at about pH 7, as in the mouth, and trypsin (dotted green) at about pH 8, as in the small intestine. Each curve is a bell around its optimum, marked with a dot and a dashed line down to the pH axis, and falls to zero either side where the enzyme denatures.

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Answer key

Pepsin: works best at pH 2, and between pH 0 and 4.5
Salivary amylase: works best at pH 7, and between pH 4 and 10
Trypsin: works best at pH 8, and between pH 5 and 11

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