2.6 Enzyme Action Flashcards
What are enzymes?
Globular proteins that act as catalysts
What are catalysts?
Catalysts alter the rate of a chemical reaction without undergoing permanent changes themselves.
Catalysts can be
reused repeatedly
For a catalysts to work, do you need a big or small amount?
Small amount
Do enzymes make reactions happen?
No, they simply alter the speed of reactions that already occur.
What is the activation energy?
The minimum amount of energy needed to activate the reaction.
How do enzymes affect the activation energy of a reaction?
They lower it.
What shape do enzymes have?
A specific 3-D shape
What gives each enzyme their specific shape?
Their sequence of amino acids (primary protein structure)
What is the small, functional part of an enzyme?
The active site
What is a substrate?
The molecule on which the enzyme acts on
What is formed when an enzyme and substrate bind together?
An enzyme-substrate complex
How do you describe the shape of a substrate in relation to its specific enzyme?
It has a complementary shape.
What is the lock and key model?
A substrate will only fit the active site of one particular enzyme. The shape of the substrate fits exactly to the active site of the enzyme.
What is a limitation of the lock and key model?
Enzymes are considered to be a rigid structure, yet molecules can bind to enzymes other than the active site, altering the activity of the enzyme.
