1.7 Enzyme action

Question 1

What are enzymes?

Answer 1

Globular proteins which act as catalysts. they can be reused repeatedly so are effective in large amounts.

Question 2

How do enzymes work?

Answer 2

Enzymes lower the activation energy needed for a reaction to occur, meaning that they can happen at a lower temperature. This enables metabollic reactions to happen at body temp (37 degrees c) and sustain life.

Question 3

Describe the structure of an enzyme.

Answer 3

Enzymes have a very specific shape determined by their primary structure. very few amino acids make up the active site, a functional part of the enzyme. the active site fits specifically to the substrate to form an enzyme-substrate complex.

Question 4

describe the induced git model of enzyme action.

Answer 4

1) proximity of substrate to enzyme causes the active site to change shape slightly
2) as it changes shape it puts strain on the substrate which distorts a bond(s) in the substrate causing the activation energy needed to break the bond to decrease.