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Updated: Mar 15, 2026

Millifluidics for Chemical Synthesis and Time-resolved Mechanistic Studies
Published on: November 27, 2013
Pop-it beads to introduce catalysis of reaction rate and substrate depletion effects
1Department of Science and Mathematics, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, 14623.
Abstract:
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.
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