effect of temperature and PH on enzymes Flashcards
what happens when we increase the temperature of an enzyme?
the activity of the enzyme increases (the reaction gets faster)
why does the reaction of an enzyme get faster as we increase the temperature?
because the enzyme and substrate are moving faster so there are more collisions per second between the substrate and the active site
when increasing temperature of the enzyme, what do we call it when the enzyme is working at the fastest possible rate?
the optimum temperature
at the optimum temperature, what happens
because the enzyme is working at its fastest possible rate, the maximum frequency of successful collisions between the substrate and the active site.
what happens when we increase the temperature past the optimum?
the activity of the enzyme rapidly decreases/drops down to zero
why can temperature past the optimum temperature cause an enzyme to drop its activity to zero?
at high temperatures, the enzyme molecule vibrates and the shape of the active site changes meaning the substrate no longer fits perfectly into the active site. The active site is denatured
what does it mean for an active site to be denatured?
when the temperature is too high, the enzyme vibrates causing it to change shape and the substrate no longer fits perfectly into the active site
once an enzyme has denatured, what is it now unable to do?
catalyse the reaction
what does it mean for an enzyme to have an optimum pH
the activity is maximum at this level of pH
why would the pH of an enzyme drop down to 0?
if the pH is made more acidic or more alkaline then the activity drops to zero
what does it mean for an active site to denature?
if the conditions are too acidic or too alkaline
some enzymes work best at an acidic pH, what could this type of enzymes be?
a protease enzyme in the stomach
some enzymes work best at an alkaline pH, what may these enzymes be?
this could be an enzyme released from the pancreas into the small intestine (eg lipase)
