Enzymes

Cards (4)

  • Definition of Enzymes:
    Proteins that catalyse specfic chemical reactions without themselves being altered
  • Describe activation energy:
    Energy needed to start a chemical reaction
  • Describe the meaning of the lock and key model:
    An analogy put forward to explain the specific action of an enzyme with a single substrate
  • Features of enzymes:
    1. All enzymes are proteins
    2. They speed up chemical reactions
    3. Enzymes not used up in a reaction
    4. Reaction specific
    5. Each enzymes works under specific conditions
    6. Work by lowering energy of the reaction
    7. Enzymes thought to work on a lock-key principle
    8. Often work in systems with co-enzymes and co-factors (enzymes&minerals)
    9. Can be denatured by heating (stop working)