3a enzymes Flashcards
What is an enzyme?
An organic molecule, typically a protein, that catalyses (speeds up) specific reactions.
What is a catalyst?
A substance capable of increasing the rate of a reaction without being used up.
What does it mean to catalyse?
To increase the rate of a reaction.
What is a substrate?
The reactant of a reaction catalysed by an enzyme.
What is a reactant?
A molecule that undergoes a transformation into a product. When enzymes are involved, the reactant is called a substrate.
What is a product?
The transformed molecule created in a reaction.
What is an enzyme-substrate complex?
The structure formed when an enzyme and substrate are bound together.
What is a conformational change?
A change in the three-dimensional shape of macromolecules such as proteins. - which is temporary
What is activation energy?
The energy required to initiate a reaction.
What is collision theory?
An explanation of chemical reactions that states that in order to react, molecules must hit one another.
What is a biochemical pathway?
A series of enzyme-catalysed biochemical reactions in which the product of one reaction becomes the substrate of the next reaction. Also known as a metabolic pathway.
