Enzymes Flashcards
what do enzymes act as
biological catalysts
what do enzymes do
speed up the useful chemical reactions in the body
what do enzymes not do
they reduce the need for high temperatures in order to speed up chemical reactions
what is a catalyst
a substance which increases the speed of a reaction, without being changed or used up in the reaction
what are enzymes made up of
large proteins made up of chains of amino acids, these chains are folded into unique shapes
what determines what enzyme is used in the reaction
active site
what is the substance called that the enzyme acts on
substrate
what diagram shows enzyme action
lock and key model
what happens when you increase the temperature
it increases the rate at first, but if it gets too hot, some of the bonds that holding the enzyme together break. This changes the shape of the enzyme’s active site, so the substrate won’t fit anymore, the enzyme is DENATURED
what do all enzymes require to work best
optimum temperature
what happens if the pH is too high or too low
it interferes with the bonds holding the enzyme together. This changes the shape of the active site and DENATURES the enzyme
what optimum pH do most enzymes work best at
neutral 7
