Metabolism, Energy & Enzymes Flashcards
1st law of thermodynamics
Energy cannot be created or destroyed
2nd law of thermodynamics
Energy cannot be changed from one form to another without a loss of usable energ
Metabolism
The sum of all chemical reactions that occur within a cell
Reactants
Substances that participate or begin a reaction
Products
Substances that form as a result of a reaction
Free energy
Amount of energy left to do work after a chemical reaction has occurred
Exergonic reactions
Spontaneous and release energy
Endergonic reactions
Require an input of energy to happen
ATP
Adenosine Tri-Phosphate is a common energy “currency”
ADP
Adenosine Di-Phosphate
Enzyme
Protein molecule that speeds up a chemical reaction
Ribozymes
Made up of RNA instead of proteins; can also speed up a chemical reaction
Metabolic pathway
A series of linked reactions
Substrate
The reactants in an enzymatic reaction
Active site
Part of the enzyme that associates directly with the substrate
Induced fit model
When an enzyme is induced to make the active site fit the substrate
Activation energy
The energy that must be added to cause molecules to react with each other
Denaturation
Prevents an enzyme from binding to its substrate efficiently, thus decreasing the rate of a reaction
Cofactors
Necessary inorganic molecule required at the active site in order to work correctly
Coenzyme
Necessary organic molecule required at the active site in order to work correctly
Enzyme inhibition
Happens when a molecule binds to an enzyme and decreases its activity
Redox-Reaction: OIL RIG
Oxidation is loss, Reduction is gain
