CHAPTER 3: ENZYMES
Enzymes are protein molecules
which act as biological catalysts in specific reactions by reducing activation
energy. Activation energy is the energy that must
be provided to make a reaction take place, and a catalyst is a molecule which
speeds up a chemical reaction but remains unchanged at the end of the reaction. An in-depth answer about the factors that can affect the activity of enzymes are located in question 3 in the pictures of the test above, but a quick overview can be found here:
In order to catalyze a reaction, enzymes must have these three things:
My understanding as to why enzymes are important is because they allow reactions in the bodies of living organisms to take place at a faster rate. If some reactions were not catalyzed, they would take a very long time to occur and that would be unbeneficial to living organisms that require the energy created by the reaction quickly and efficiently.
- pH
- temperature
- concentration of enzymes
- the presence of inhibitors
In order to catalyze a reaction, enzymes must have these three things:
- Activation energy
- Activation site- region of an enzyme, usually a cleft or depression, to which another molecule or molecules can bind
- Substrate- the molecule that fits into the active site
My understanding as to why enzymes are important is because they allow reactions in the bodies of living organisms to take place at a faster rate. If some reactions were not catalyzed, they would take a very long time to occur and that would be unbeneficial to living organisms that require the energy created by the reaction quickly and efficiently.