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Notes Enzymes

Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions without being consumed, and they are specific to particular substrates due to their complementary shapes. The enzyme-substrate complex forms when a substrate fits into the enzyme's active site, leading to product formation while the enzyme remains unchanged. Enzyme activity is influenced by temperature and pH, with each enzyme having an optimum temperature and pH, beyond which denaturation occurs, resulting in loss of function.

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56 views6 pages

Notes Enzymes

Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions without being consumed, and they are specific to particular substrates due to their complementary shapes. The enzyme-substrate complex forms when a substrate fits into the enzyme's active site, leading to product formation while the enzyme remains unchanged. Enzyme activity is influenced by temperature and pH, with each enzyme having an optimum temperature and pH, beyond which denaturation occurs, resulting in loss of function.

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Sub- topic: Structure, Function and Specificity of Enzymes

WALT: Explain the structure, specificity and role of enzymes in biological functions.

What Are Enzymes?

Enzymes are:

• Catalysts that speed up the rate of a chemical reaction without being changed or used up in
the reaction
• Proteins
• Biological catalysts (biological because they are made in living cells, catalysts because they
speed up the rate of chemical reactions without being changed)
• Necessary to all living organisms as they maintain reaction speeds of all metabolic
reactions (all the reactions that keep an organism alive) at a rate that can sustain life.

Enzymes are specific to one particular substrate (molecule/s that get broken down or joined together

in the reaction) as the enzyme is a complementary shape to the substrate.

The product is made from the substrate(s) and is released.


Enzyme Action & Specificity:

Enzymes are specific to one particular substrate(s) as the active site of the enzyme, where the

substrate attaches, is a complementary shape to the substrate

This is because the enzyme is a protein and has a specific 3−D shape

This is known as the lock and key hypothesis

When the substrate moves into the enzyme’s active site they become known as the enzyme-
substrate complex

After the reaction has occurred, the products leave the enzyme’s active site as they no longer fit it
and it is free to take up another substrate
How enzymes work

1. Enzymes and substrates randomly move about in solution

2. When an enzyme and its complementary substrate randomly collide - with the substrate fitting

into the active site of the enzyme - an enzyme-substrate complex forms, and the reaction occurs.

3. A product (or products) forms from the substrate(s) which are then released from the active site.

The enzyme is unchanged and will go on to catalyse further reactions.


Subtopic- Effect of temperature and pH

WALT: Describe the effect of temperature and pH on enzyme activity.

Enzymes & Temperature:

Enzymes are proteins and have a specific shape, held in place by bonds

This is extremely important around the active site area as the specific shape is what ensures the

substrate will fit into the active site and enable the reaction to proceed

Enzymes work fastest at their ‘optimum temperature’ – in the human body, the optimum
temperature is 37⁰C

Heating to high temperatures (beyond the optimum) will break the bonds that hold the enzyme

together and it will lose its shape -this is known as denaturation

Substrates cannot fit into denatured enzymes as the shape of their active site has been lost

Denaturation is irreversible - once enzymes are denatured they cannot regain their proper shape and

activity will stop.

Effect of temperature on enzyme activity

Increasing the temperature from 0⁰C to the optimum increases the activity of enzymes as the more

energy the molecules have the faster they move and the number of collisions with the substrate

molecules increases, leading to a faster rate of reaction


This means that low temperatures do not denature enzymes, they just make them work more slowly

Enzymes & pH:

The optimum pH for most enzymes is 7 but some that are produced in acidic conditions, such as the

stomach, have a lower optimum pH (pH 2) and some that are produced in alkaline conditions, such
as the duodenum, have a higher optimum pH (pH 8 or 9)

If the pH is too high or too low, the bonds that hold the amino acid chain together to make up the

protein can be destroyed

This will change the shape of the active site, so the substrate can no longer fit into it, reducing the
rate of activity

Moving too far away from the optimum pH will cause the enzyme to denature and activity will stop

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