Enzymes Flashcards
what are enzymes and how are they produced?
enzymes are catalysts produced by living things
why do the chemical reactions in our bodies need to be carefully controlled?
to get the right amounts of substances in the cells
what do the enzymes do, which are produced from living things?
they act as a biological catalyst
what is the definition of ‘metabolic reactions’?
enzymes reduce the need for high temperatures and we only have enzymes to speed up the useful chemical reactions in the body
what is the definition of a catalyst?
a substance which increases the speed of a reactions, without being changed or used up in the reaction.
what are proteins made up of?
chains of amino acids
what are enzymes made up of?
proteins
what do chemical reactions usually involve?
things being split up or joined together
what is a substrate?
a molecule that is changed in a reaction?
what does every enzyme molecule have
an active site
what is an ‘active site’?
the part where a substrate joins on to the enzyme
why are enzymes really picky?
they only speed up one reaction/ because for an enzyme to work a substrate has to be the correct shape to fit into the active site
what is the process where the substrate fits into the active site?
‘lock and key’ model
