4.1 Enzymes

Question 1

Define enzyme, substrate, active site, and activation energy

Answer 1

-Enzyme- catalyst that reduces activation energy needed for a reaction
-Substrate- specifically shaped to bond to a specific enzyme
-Active site- location where the enzyme and substrate bond
-Activation Energy- minimum amount of energy needed for a chemical reaction to occur

Question 2

Turning on vs. turning off

Answer 2

-Turning on: activators and coenzymes maintain or change the active site shape
-Turning off: inhibitors reduce enzyme activity by either competitive (binds directly with active site to compete with enzyme) or noncompetitive (attaches to different site to change enzyme shape)

Question 3

Graph, explain, and predict the relationship between rate of reaction and substrate concentration, enzyme concentration, pH, and temp

Answer 3

-Substrate Concentration: graph starts exponential then levels off due to enzymes maxing out at the rate they can form reactions with the substrates
-Enzyme Concentration: graph starts exponential then levels off due to substrates running out and becoming a limiting factor
-pH: graph looks like an upside down parabola with a horizontal asymptote at 0. This is because the vertex is the optimal pH with the rays being either too basic or acidic.
-Temp: graph looks like an upside down parabola with a horizontal asymptote at 0. This is due to the vertex being the optimal temp with the higher temps leading to the enzyme denaturing and the lower temps lead to the molecules moving too slow to collide which lowers the chance of a reaction. At a certain temp, the molecules will stop moving which leads to no collisions.