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Enzyms Notes

Enzymes are biological catalysts that facilitate essential reactions in organisms, with specificity determined by their active sites that bind to particular substrates. Enzyme activity is influenced by temperature and pH, with each enzyme having an optimum range for both; deviations can lead to denaturation and loss of function. Low temperatures decrease reaction rates without causing denaturation, while high temperatures can increase rates but may also lead to denaturation if excessive.

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Topics covered

  • temperature effects,
  • kinetic energy,
  • optimum temperature,
  • substrate binding,
  • enzyme production,
  • enzyme classification,
  • active site,
  • human body enzymes,
  • reaction rates,
  • enzyme evolution
76 views4 pages

Enzyms Notes

Enzymes are biological catalysts that facilitate essential reactions in organisms, with specificity determined by their active sites that bind to particular substrates. Enzyme activity is influenced by temperature and pH, with each enzyme having an optimum range for both; deviations can lead to denaturation and loss of function. Low temperatures decrease reaction rates without causing denaturation, while high temperatures can increase rates but may also lead to denaturation if excessive.

Uploaded by

m.hasanfa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Topics covered

  • temperature effects,
  • kinetic energy,
  • optimum temperature,
  • substrate binding,
  • enzyme production,
  • enzyme classification,
  • active site,
  • human body enzymes,
  • reaction rates,
  • enzyme evolution

Enzymes

A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of chemical reaction and is not changed by the reaction itself.

An enzyme is a biological catalyst that catalyzes many important reactions inside an organism (such as respiration) and therefore
necessary to sustain life.

How enzymes work is more easily shown through a diagram. Take a look below:

Firstly, a substrate is a substance that an enzyme acts on. It is important to understand that enzymes are very specific, and the reason for
their specificity lies in their active sites – a region of an enzyme that binds to a particular substrate. The shape of the active site of an
enzyme is complementary to only one specific substrate.

As demonstrated in the diagram, the green substrate has a shape that pairs impeccably with the shape enzyme’s active site. As the
enzyme binds with the substrate, an enzyme-substrate complex is formed. The reaction then occurs on the enzyme and the enzyme-
product complex is formed. The products eventually leave the enzyme.
Enzyme activity VS Temperature & pH

There are certain factors that can impact enzyme activity. The two of which CIE wants you to know is temperature and pH. But before
getting into the details, you need to know that all enzymes have an optimum temperature and an optimum pH. These are certain
temperatures or pH in which a particular enzyme work best in, and it can vary between different enzymes.

For any given enzyme, if the conditions stray too far from the optimum, then denaturation can occur. This is when extreme non-ideal
conditions (i.e. high temperatures or very low/high pH) causes chemical bonds in the enzymes to break apart. This results in the change
in shape of the enzyme’s active site. Remember, the active site has a very special shape and it fits only one specific type (and shape) of
substrate. An alteration in active site will therefore cause the enzyme to lose function.

Temperature and enzyme activity

Low temperatures reduce the rate of chemical reactions in general. This is because molecules need to collide with one another and have
enough energy for a reaction to occur. In low temperatures, molecules are traveling at lower speeds (less energy) and therefore the rate of
successful collisions are lower. Moreover, even when collisions do occur, the molecules may have insufficient kinetic energies to begin
with, and therefore the reaction may not occur. Enzyme activity is therefore low in low temperatures. It is important to note however,
that low temperatures do not denature enzymes.

Higher temperatures generally increase the rate of chemical reactions. Molecules are faster and have more kinetic energy. This means
that rate of successful molecular collisions are higher,and most molecules will have sufficient energy required for the reaction. However,
temperatures that are far beyond the optimum temperature of the enzymes can start to denature it, and reduce enzyme activity as a result.
Most enzymes have an optimum temperature of approximately 37 degrees in the human body, and start getting denatured at above 50
degrees.

pH and enzyme activity


The optimum pH of an enzyme can vary. Pepsin is an enzyme found in the stomach’s acidic conditions and therefore made to work best
in a pH of approximately 2. Amylase on the other hand, is found in saliva (more neutral conditions) and therefore has an optimum pH of
7. Very high or very low pH’s can denature these enzymes if it deviates too much from their optimum.

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