Digestive Systems and Enzymes - Enzymes and Catalysis Flashcards
1
Q
What are enzymes
A
enzymes are catalysts produced by living things
2
Q
why do we have enzymes
A
we have enzymes to speed up the useful chemical reactions
3
Q
what is a catalyst
A
a catalyst is a substance which increases the speed of a reaction without being changed or used up in the reaction
4
Q
what are all enzymes made up of
A
enzymes are all large proteins so are made up of amino acid chains which fold into unique shapes, smth enzymes need to do their jobs
5
Q
why do enzymes have specific shapes
A
enzymes have specific shapes so one substrate fits into one active site, one enzyme per reaction
6
Q
what do you use when describing how enzymes work
A
the lock and key method
7
Q
what can affect the rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction
A
temperature and pH - up to the point of denaturing
