Biology- Enzymes (year 9) Flashcards
What are enzymes?
they are catalysts produced by living things
what do living things have?
thousands of different chemical reactions going on inside them all the time.
How can you make a reaction happen more quickly?
raising the temperature
what can raising the temperature do to the reaction?
speed up the useful reactions but also the unwanted ones
what do living things produce?
enzymes that act as biological catalyst
What is a catalyst?
A substance which increases the speed of a reaction without being changed or used up in the reaction
Are enzymes small or large proteins?
They are all large proteins made up of chains of amino acids
What do chemical reactions usually involve?
things either being split apart or joined together
What do every enzyme have?
An active site with an unique shape that fits onto the substance involved in a reaction
What needs to happen for the enzyme to work?
the substrate has to fit into its active site
What ends up happening to the active site?
the active site changes shape as the substance binds to it to get a tighter fit
