Enzymes

• What are enzymes?

  Biological catalysts
• What do enzymes reduce the need for in the body?

  High temperature
• What is a catalyst?

  A substance which speeds up a reaction without being changed or used up
• What kind of molecule are enzymes?

  Proteins
• What small molecule are enzymes made up of?

  Amino acids
• What is the area where an enzyme attaches to a substrate?

  An active site
• How many types of reaction does each enzyme catalyse?

  One
• What is the commonly used diagram used to explain enzyme activity?

  The Lock and Key model
• What is the induced fit model?

  An explanation of enzyme activity in which the active site becomes slightly smaller in order to better bind to a substrate
• What two optimum conditions do enzymes require?

  Temperature and pH
• What happens to enzymes when the temperature is too high?

  Bonds holding it together break, active site changes shape and loses its function
• What is the term for an enzyme losing its function due to high temperature?

  Denaturing
• What is often the optimum pH for enzyme activity?

  7