Final answer:
The objective of the experiment is to determine the effect of lipase on the breakdown of oil into fatty acids. Hydrolysis, catalyzed by lipase, will continue in Beaker A as long as there are triglycerides and the enzyme remains active. Beaker B serves as a control to establish that without lipase, hydrolysis does not occur.
Step-by-step explanation:
The objective of the experiment where two beakers containing oil had either lipase or distilled water added is likely to investigate the effect of lipase on the breakdown of fats into fatty acids. In Beaker A, which contains lipase, one would expect hydrolysis of the triglycerides in the oil to occur, releasing fatty acids over time.
This is due to the lipase catalyzing the reaction where water (a component of the oil itself or from the surroundings) would break the ester bonds in triglycerides. As for the reaction occurring over a few hours after initial setup, yes, hydrolysis would continue to take place in Beaker A as long as there are triglycerides available and the lipase is active. The enzyme lipase will keep breaking down the oil, producing free fatty acids, until it is inactivated by either a shift in temperature, pH, or if all substrates are already converted.
Beaker B, with distilled water added, serves as a control to show that without the enzyme, no significant hydrolysis of the oil happens over the same time period. Therefore, comparing the contents for fatty acids in both beakers over time allows the evaluation of lipase's enzymatic activity on the hydrolysis of fats.