January 1, 2015 (Vol. 35, No. 1)
Rating:
Strong Points: Experiment simulations, quizzes
Weak Points: Glitchy games, poor navigation through pages
Platform:
iPad/iPhone
Cost:
Free
Summary:
It’s always fun to find games that serve an educational purpose. (I mean, if you’re going to be fiddling with your tablet or phone, you might as well be learning something, right?) Enzymatic is an iPad/iPhone app that is composed of games, experiment simulations, and quizzes that teach app users about enzymes—what they are, what they do, and how the are sensitive to environmental factors. Two games, which play off concepts of reaction type and enzyme specificity, are actually the weakest part of the app, as the graphics are somewhat poor and the user controls are not very responsive. The rest of the app, including an experiment simulation that lets users observe the effects of temperature, pH, and substrate concentration on enzymatic activity, as well as the various quizzes, is less glitchy.
