enzymes

Question 1

what is an enzyme?

Answer 1

biological catalyst
large protein molecule

Question 2

what does an enzyme do?

Answer 2

speeds up the rate of reaction by lowering the activation energy

Question 3

what is the activation energy?

Answer 3

the minimum amount of energy needed for a reaction to take place

Question 4

what is the active site of an enzyme?

Answer 4

part the substrate binds to
temporary bonds are formed between amino acids on the substrate and the active site

Question 5

factors that can affect enzyme activity

Answer 5

temperature
pH
substrate concentration
enzyme concentration

Question 6

how does temperature affect enzyme activity?

Answer 6

rise in temp increases KE of enzyme and substrate
greater temperature means more collisions so more enzyme-substrate complexes
if temperature is too high bonds break and alter the shape of the active site

Question 7

how does pH affect enzyme activity?

Answer 7

alters charges of amino acids that make up active site
can cause bonds of tertiary structure to break

Question 8

how does substrate concentration affect enzyme activity?

Answer 8

more substrate = more collisions = more enzyme-substrate complexes

Question 9

how does enzyme concentration affect enzyme activity?

Answer 9

amount of substrate is then limited, so adding more enzyme won’t do anything

Question 10

what is the saturation point?

Answer 10

when all active sites are filled so adding more substrate won’t increase rate of reaction

Question 11

what is an enzyme inhibitor?

Answer 11

something that reduces or stops enzyme activity

Question 12

what does a competitive inhibitor do?

Answer 12

binds at the active site of an enzyme and prevents the reaction from taking place

Question 13

what does a non-competitive inhibitor do?

Answer 13

doesn’t bind at active site
binds somewhere else on the enzyme and this changes the shape of the enzyme so alters the shape of the active site
this decreases the rate of reaction