1.

Define enzymes as proteins that function as biological catalysts

Just memorise the definition:

Enzymes are proteins that function as biological catalysts

2. Explain enzyme action concerning the complementary shape of the active site of an
enzyme and its substrate and the formation of a product

In a reaction, you generally have two types of chemicals: the reactants and the products.
The reactants react together to form the products.
In an enzymatic reaction (i.e. a reaction catalysed by an enzyme), the reactants are known
as ‘substrates’.
Enzymes work on substrates to form products.
Enzymes have an ‘active site’ – this is the part of the enzyme that binds to the substrate.
Every enzyme’s active site is ‘specific’. This means that one particular active site can
only bind to one type of substrate.
There are a lot of theories that explain how enzymes work. One of the most important
ones is the lock and key mechanism. This is the mechanism you need to learn for your
syllabus:

The shape of the active site is ‘complementary’ to its substrates – this means that the
substrate(s) fits into the enzyme in the same way a key fits into a lock. This
complementary nature is what makes the enzyme specific to a substrate.
So, in a reaction, the substrate will be randomly moving around. As a result of this
random motion, the substrate will collide with and bind to an enzyme that it is specific to.
This results in the formation of an enzyme-substrate complex. The enzyme then catalyses
the reaction – either breaking up a substrate (a catabolic reaction) or joining two
substrates together (an anabolic reaction).
 It then releases the products, to make space for more substrates, so that the enzyme can
catalyse more reactions.
3. Investigate and describe the effect of changes in temperature and pH on enzyme
activity

The temperature an enzyme works best at is its ‘optimum temperature’.

The pH an enzyme works best at is its ‘optimum pH’.
Most enzymes in our body have an optimum pH of 7, and an optimum temperature of
37oC, because those are the conditions in most parts of our body, and our enzymes are
well adapted to function inside us.
One exception is pepsin. This enzyme is present in our stomach and functions best in our
stomach’s acidic (HCl) conditions – pH2.
The general rule goes: the lower the temperature (when lower than optimum
temperature), the slower the enzyme works; the higher the temperature (when higher than
optimum temperature), the less the enzyme works.
The lower the pH (when lower than optimum), the less the enzyme functions; the higher
the pH (when higher than optimum), the less the enzyme works.

4. Explain the effect of changes in temperature on enzyme activity, in terms of kinetic

energy, shape and fit, frequency of effective collisions and denaturation

An object's kinetic energy is that energy it possesses due to its motion. The faster it
moves, the higher its kinetic energy.
Now, I’ve already explained that enzymes bind to their substrates due to the random
motion of the substrates. What I haven’t mentioned, though, is that everything in a
reaction has kinetic energy – the enzymes, the substrates, the products. So you have a lot
of moving things. Because there are so many things moving around in random directions,
there will be a lot of random collisions.
Generally, objects with kinetic energy move in a straight line, until they collide with
something else. Then, their kinetic energy changes so that they either change direction
and speed or stop moving altogether.
 This random motion of particles in a fluid resulting from their collision with other moving
particles in the fluid is called ‘Brownian motion’.
Due to Brownian motion, enzymes and substrates will collide a lot. Sometimes, even
when an enzyme and substrate collide, it won’t bind (maybe because the substrate didn’t
collide with the active site of the enzyme, or the part of the substrate that is supposed to
bind to the active site didn’t collide to the active site, maybe they just bounced off of each
other instead of binding, etc.) A collision that does not result in the completion of the
reaction is unsuccessful.
To create an enzyme-substrate complex, we need an effective collision.
Now for the main part of the explanation (refer to the enzyme activity-temperature graph
above as you read this explanation):
As you increase the temperature of a reaction, you are supplying the reaction with more
thermal energy.
As the particles absorb more thermal energy, they move faster, because this thermal
energy becomes converted into kinetic energy.
As the particles move faster, there are more collisions in a given amount of time.
As there are more collisions, there are a higher number of effective collisions in a given
amount of time (there is a higher frequency of effective collisions).
As there is a higher frequency of effective collisions, the enzymes catalyse more reactions
in a given period (the rate of reaction increases).
As the temperature rises, the enzymes continue to work faster in this way, up until the
enzymes are working as fast as they possibly can. Once enzymes achieve their maximum
activity, they are working at their optimum temperature.

If you increase the temperature even more than this, the atoms in the enzymes start to
gain too much kinetic energy to maintain the shape of the enzyme. They vibrate so
vigorously that they break the bonds holding them together, causing the enzyme's active
site to lose its shape – the enzyme becomes denatured. So, what you need to put on your
exam paper is, that when you increase the temperature to a value greater than the
optimum temperature of the enzyme, the enzyme becomes denatured. This causes the
active site to lose its shape, so it can no longer bind to its substrate. The enzyme can't
function anymore if it can’t bind to its substrate.

As the temperature increases beyond the optimum temperature, more enzymes become
denatured.

As more enzymes become denatured, less effective collisions can take place.

As less effective collisions take place, enzyme activity falls back down to 0.
 
5. Explain the effect of changes in pH on enzyme activity in terms of shape and fit and
denaturation.

Refer to the enzyme activity-pH graph above.

The lower the pH, the more acidic an environment is.

 The higher the pH, the more alkaline an environment is.

Enzymes function best at their optimum pH.

The further away the pH of the environment is from the enzyme’s optimum pH, the more
enzymes slow down and denature. This causes the active site to lose its shape, so the
substrate(s) can no longer fit into the active site.

This causes enzyme activity to fall.