Enzymes, Catalysts, and Energy in Chemical Reactions: Key Concepts for Biology

What is energy in the context of chemical reactions?

The ability to cause matter to move or change.

What drives all life processes?

Energy.

How is energy related to chemical reactions?

Energy can be stored or released by chemical reactions.

What is metabolism?

The sum of all chemical reactions in the body, including breaking down foods for energy and building new compounds.

What is the role of ATP in energy storage?

Energy is stored in ATP (adenosine triphosphate).

What is activation energy?

The energy needed to start a chemical reaction.

How can the speed of a chemical reaction be increased?

By using a catalyst.

What are catalysts?

Substances that lower activation energy and can be organic or inorganic.

What are enzymes?

Organic catalysts that speed up the rate of chemical reactions by lowering activation energy.

How do enzymes help maintain homeostasis in organisms?

They enable chemical reactions to occur quickly enough to sustain life.

What is a substrate in relation to enzymes?

The substance that the enzyme works on.

What is the active site of an enzyme?

The specific location on the enzyme where the substrate must bind for the reaction to occur.

What happens to an enzyme after a reaction?

The enzyme is not changed by the reaction.

How do enzymes demonstrate specificity?

Specific enzymes work with specific substrates, similar to a key fitting a lock.

What factors can affect an enzyme's effectiveness?

Temperature, pH, and concentration.

What is denaturation in the context of enzymes?

The unraveling of a protein, leading to loss of structure and function.

What is an inhibitor in enzyme activity?

A substance that prevents the substrate from binding to the active site.

What is a competitive inhibitor?

An inhibitor that physically blocks the active site of the enzyme.

What is a noncompetitive inhibitor?

An inhibitor that binds to the enzyme at a site other than the active site, changing the shape of the active site.