1. What is an enzyme?

Enzymes are proteins that help speed up metabolism, or the chemical reactions in our bodies. They build some
substances and break others down. All living things have enzymes. Our bodies naturally produce enzymes.
2. Why are enzymes needed?
Enzymes help speed up chemical reactions in the human body. They are essential for respiration, digesting food,
muscle and nerve function, among thousands of other roles. Each cell contains thousands of enzymes, providing
specific help throughout the body. Enzymes help with the chemical reactions that keep a person alive and well.
For example, they perform a necessary function for metabolism, the process of breaking down food and drink
into energy. Enzymes speed up (catalyze) chemical reactions in cells. More specifically, they lower the threshold
necessary to start the intended reaction. They do this by binding to another substance known as a substrate.
3. What do enzymes do?
Enzymes provide support for many important processes within the body. Some examples include:
The digestive system: Enzymes help the body break down larger complex molecules into smaller molecules, such
as glucose, so that the body can use them as fuel.
DNA replication: Each cell in the body contains DNA. Each time a cell divides, the cell needs to copy its DNA.
Enzymes help in this process by unwinding the DNA coils.
Liver enzymes: The liver breaks down toxins in the body. To do this, it uses a range of enzymes the facilitate the
process of destroying the toxins.
Other activities enzymes help with include:
hormone production
cell regulation
creating movement to make the muscle contract
transporting materials around a cell
respiration
signal transduction

4. Give examples of enzymes in the human body?

Examples of specific enzymes
Thousands of enzymes in the human body exist to perform around 5,000 different functions. A few examples
include:
Lipases: This group of enzymes help digest fats in the gut.
Amylase: In the saliva, amylase helps change starches into sugars.
Maltase: This also occurs in the saliva, and breaks the sugar maltose into glucose
Trypsin: These enzymes break proteins down into amino acids in the small intestine.
Lactase: Lactase breaks lactose, the sugar in milk, into glucose and galactose.
Acetylcholinesterase: These enzymes break down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in nerves and muscles.
Helicase: Helicase enzymes unravel DNA.
DNA polymerase: These enzymes synthesize DNA from deoxyribonucleotides.
Types of enzymes
Experts break enzymes down into several different types based on the functions they perform in the body. The
different types include:
oxidoreductases
transferases
hydrolases
lyases
ligases
isomerases
The body needs all of the different types to function properly.
5. What is activation energy? Why is it important?
Enzymes perform the critical task of lowering a reaction's activation energy—that is, the amount of energy that
must be put in for the reaction to begin. Enzymes work by binding to reactant molecules and holding them in
such a way that the chemical bond-breaking and bond-forming processes take place more readily.
To ensure that the body’s systems work correctly, it is sometimes necessary to slow down enzyme function. For
instance, if an enzyme makes too much of a product, then the body needs a way to reduce or stop the
production.
6. What are the two models of enzyme activity? Explain.

7. What are the factors that affect the enzyme activities?

Several factors can limit enzyme activity levels, including:
Competitive inhibitors: This inhibitor molecule blocks the active site so that the substrate has to compete with
the inhibitor to attach to the enzyme.
Non-competitive inhibitors: This molecule binds to an enzyme somewhere other than the active site and
reduces how effectively it works.
Uncompetitive inhibitors: This inhibitor binds to the enzyme and substrate. The products leave the active site
less easily, which slows the reaction.
Irreversible inhibitors: This is an irreversible inhibitor, which binds to an enzyme and permanently inactivates it.