2.1.4: Enzymes Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is kinetic energy?
The energy that an object possesses due to its motion.
Kinetic energy is crucial for enzyme reactions as it affects the frequency of successful collisions between enzymes and substrates.
What happens to enzymes at high temperatures?
Enzymes denature and the active site changes shape.
This denaturation prevents enzyme-substrate complexes from forming.
What is the result of low temperatures on enzyme activity?
Insufficient kinetic energy for successful collisions.
This reduces the rate of reaction.
Define the Q10 temperature coefficient.
A measure of the rate of change of an enzyme-controlled reaction as a result of increasing the temperature by 10°C.
Q10 can be calculated using the formula: Q10 = (rate of reaction at (x+10) °C) / (rate of reaction at x°C).
What is the impact of pH on enzyme activity?
Too high or too low pH will interfere with the charges in the amino acids in the active site.
This can cause bonds to break and the enzyme to denature.
What is an example of an enzyme with a specific optimal pH?
Pepsin, which has an optimum of around pH 2.
Pepsin digests proteins in the acidic environment of the stomach.
At what pH does salivary amylase function optimally?
Around pH 7.
Salivary amylase is optimal in the neutral pH of saliva.
What is the optimal pH for pancreatic lipase?
Around pH 8.
Pancreatic lipase works best in the slightly alkaline conditions of the small intestine.
Fill in the blank: Enzymes denature at high temperatures because the increase in temperature causes bonds to break and the _______ structure alters.
[tertiary]
The change in tertiary structure affects the shape of the active site.
True or False: Enzymes can function optimally at any pH.
False
Each enzyme has a specific optimal pH at which it functions best.
