Enzymes

• Enzymes - biological catalysts that are made up of protein and have a very specific shape, the active site is complementry to the substrate
• Lock and Key model: the shape of the substrate is complementary to the shape of the active site

  
• Enzymes require an optimum pH (7) and temperature (37 degrees) for optimal activity.
• How increase in temperature effects enzymes:

  • at first the rate of reaction increases as the temperature increases
  • however when the temperature becomes too hot, the active site start to denature
  • therefore the substrate will no longer fit
• How increase/decrease in pH effects enzymes:

  • if the pH is too high or low, the forces holding the amino acid chains that make the protein will be affected
  • this will denature the active site
  • therefore the substrate will no longer fit