Activation energy and measuring catalysed reaction rates

activation energy

the minimum amount of energy required for a chemical reaction to occur

what can the help of enzymes do to activation energy

interactions can be carried out with lower investment in a.e

what does energy have to reach before completing a reaction

transition state

transition state

intermediate state before being converted into products (e.g. bonds need to be broken/weakened in a substance)

how does an enzyme lower activation energy

weakening bonds so less energy is needed for the reaction to occur

how do we measure the rate of enzyme-catalysed reactions

record the amount of substarte has disappeared from a reaction mixture

alternative measure

amount of product that has accumulated in a unit of time

enzyme catalysed reaction (diagram)

what is not constant in a reaction (graph)

the rate

how can the [instantaneous] rate [of reaction] be measured

draw a tangent to the curve at a specific time and divide the change in product by the change in time