16/10/2023, 08:23 print.

html

How enzymes speed up reactions

a certain amount of energy needs to be

supplied to the chemicals before the reaction
will start.
This is called the activation energy — it’s often
provided as heat Models of enzyme action-what is The ‘lock and key’
Enzymes lower the amount of activation model
energy that’s needed, often making reactions
happen at a lower temperature than they could Enzymes only work with substrates that fit
without an enzyme. their active site.
This speeds up the rate of reaction. the ‘lock and key’ model is where the substrate
Models of enzyme action-what is The ‘induced fit’ only fits into the enzyme — the active site and
model the substrate have a complementary shape.
However if this was correct enzymes would
The ‘induced fit’ model helps to explain why have rigid structure and we know that it has a
enzymes are so specific and only bond to one flexible structure as other molecules can bind
particular substrate to enzyme altering active site
The substrate doesn’t only have to be the right
shape to fit the active site, it has to make the
active site change shape in the right way as
well
The enzyme’s active site actually changes
shape slightly to fit around the substrate
As the active site moulds around the substrate
it puts a strain on certain bonds in the
When a substrate fits into the enzyme’s active substrate, lowering the activation energy
site it forms an enzyme-substrate complex — needed to break bonds and allow the formation why the lock and key model is wrong
it’s this that lowers the activation energy. of products
The enzyme and substrate do have to fit
Here are two reasons why: together in the first place, but the enzyme-
substrate complex changed shape slightly to
If two substrate molecules need to be joined, complete the fit
being attached to the enzyme holds them close This locks the substrate even more tightly to
together, reducing any repulsion between the the enzyme.
molecules so they can bond more easily
f the enzyme is catalysing a breakdown
reaction, fitting into the active site puts a strain
on bonds in the substrate, so the substrate
molecule breaks up more easily
16/10/2023, 08:23 print.html

what are Enzymes as biological catalysts

Enzymes speed up chemical reactions by

acting as biological catalysts.
They catalyse metabolic reactions — both at a
cellular level (e.g. respiration) and for the what are the Benefit and disadvantages of the lock
organism as a whole (e.g. digestion in and key model
mammals).
Enzymes work by lowering the activation physical representation as enzymes are very
energy for the reaction small to see
Enzymes can affect structures in an organism Enzymes are specific - 1 enzyme 1 substrate
(e.g. enzymes are involved in the production of Active site (locks)
what are Enzymes collagen, an important protein in the Used over and over again
connective tissues of animals) as well as enzyme generally larger substrate
functions (like respiration).
Enzymes are proteins that speed up the rate of
Enzyme action can be intracellular — within
chemical reactions.
cells, or extracellular — outside cells Disadvantages of the lock and key model
Enzymes are proteins
Enzymes have an active site, which has a Enzyme not affected by temperature,ph
specific shape. the substrate does not chnage but substrate
The active site is the part of the enzyme where chnages to products
the substrate molecules (the substance that the Enzymes and substrates often change shape
enzyme interacts with) bind to to from and when bound together
enzyme substrate complex. Enzymes often require coenzymes or cofactors
Substrate is convertedinto product which then
leaves the active site
Enzymes are highly specific due to their
tertiary structure of their active sites
16/10/2023, 08:23 print.html

what are the properties of Enzyme what is the Enzyme structure what is the advantages of induced fit model

Enzyme properties are related to their tertiary Complex 3 dimensional structure as a results Enzymes are specific
structure of the sequences of amino acids The active site is unique but is also flexible
Enzymes are very specific — they usually only Although the enzymes are large only a small and changes shape around the substrate
catalyse one reaction, e.g. maltase only breaks part of the molecule is involved in the Widely accepted
down maltose, sucrase only breaks down reaction- the active site
sucrose This is often a small hole depression
This is because only one complementary The enzyme reacts with the substrate to form
substrate will fit into the active site an enzyme substrate complex
The active site’s shape is determined by the E + S → [ES] → E + P
enzyme’s tertiary structure (which is
determined by the enzyme’s primary
structure).
Each different enzyme has a different tertiary
structure and so a different shaped active site.
If the substrate shape doesn’t match the active
site, an enzyme-substrate complex won’t be
formed and the reaction won’t be catalysed

If the tertiary structure of a protein is altered in

any way, the shape of the active site will
change.
This means the substrate won’t fit into the
active site, an enzyme-substrate complex won’t
be formed and the enzyme will no longer be
able to carry out its function.
The tertiary structure of an enzyme may be
altered by changes in pH or temperature
The primary structure (amino acid sequence)
of a protein is determined by a gene
If a mutation occurs in that gene, it could
change the tertiary structure of the enzyme
16/10/2023, 08:23 print.html

produced.