5.1.1

Enzymes

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Enzymes

Enzymes are proteins that increase the speed of reactions in organisms. Without enzymes, chemical reactions in organisms would be too slow to sustain life. They are often called biological catalysts.

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Active site

  • To catalyse (speed up) a reaction, the reacting chemical (substrate) must bind to the enzyme's active site.
  • The active site will only fit specific substrates to form an enzyme-substrate complex.
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Lock and key

  • The active site is like a lock and the substrate is like a key.
  • In the same way, there is usually only one enzyme for every substrate (or one key for each lock).
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Unchanged

  • Enzymes don't change when they catalyse a reaction.
  • This means that they are not used up, and one enzyme molecule can catalyse many substrate molecules, one after the other.

Jump to other topics

1Classification of Living Organisms

2Organisation of the Organism

3Movement Into & Out of Cells

4Biological Molecules

5Enzymes

6Plant Nutrition

7Human Nutrition

8Transport in Plants

9Transport in Animals

10Diseases & Immunity

11Gas Exchange in Humans

12Respiration

13Excretion in Humans

14Coordination & Response

15Drugs

16Reproduction

17Inheritance

18Variation & Selection

19Organisms & Their Environment

20Human Influence on Ecosystems

21Biotechnology & Genetic Modification

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