B2.3 Enzymes Flashcards
What is an enzyme?
a biological catalyst
What are enzymes made out of?
protein
What do enzymes do/not do?
spped up rate of reactions
do not change the products
not used up in the reaction
How do enzymes work?
What are enzymes involved in?
building large molecules from lots of smaller ones
changing one molecule into another
breaking down large molecules into smaller ones
Name three types of enzymes?
carbohydrase
protease
lipase
What do carbohydrase do?
breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars
What do protease do?
breaks down proteins into amino acids
What do lipase do?
breaks down fats into fatty acids and glycerol
What is the function of digestion?
digestion makes insoluble substances into soluble ones
during digestion digestive juices are added to the food , these contain enzymes
What factors affect enzyme activity?
temperature and pH
How does temperature affect enzymes?
the rate of reaction increases with temperature until it reaches a peak/optimum temperature; above the peak there is a rapid decrease in rate of reaction as temp increases
How does pH affect enzymes?
Different organs have differetn pHs:different enzymes work as different optimum pHs
Explain thow bile assists enzymes?
Bile -made in the liver, enters small intestine through bile duct(stored in gall bladder)
Bile is alkaline and neutralises acid which was added to food in the stomach, this gives best pH for enzymes in small intestine
Bile emulsifies fats, incresing the surface area of fats for lipase enzymes to act upon
Explain how hydrochloric acid assists enzymes?
hydrochloric acid is in digestive juices that the stomach produces
stomach protease works best in acidic pH; stomach acid also kills germs
How are enzymes used in industry?
baby food, washing powder, slimming foods, producong glucose
How are enzymes used in baby food?
breaks down to amino acids, babies can’t digest proteins well
How are enzymes used in washing powder?
work at lower temperatures (less energy to heat water) helps to save money on electricity bills
How are enzymes used in slimming foods?
isomerase-convert glucose syrup into fructose syrup (sweeter-less can be used)
How are enzymes used in producing glucoes?
cheap source of sweetener for food production eg. sports drinks
