Ch.4 Energy Enzymes lecture notes/flashcards-Honey Ortiz

Energy

The ability to perform work, resulting from the movement and transfer of energy.

Metabolism

The series of chemical processes that occur within living organisms.

Enzymes

Protein catalysts found in cells that accelerate chemical reactions without being consumed.

Kinetic Energy

Energy possessed by objects in motion.

Potential Energy

Energy that is stored, often found in chemical bonds.

Thermodynamics

The branch of science that investigates energy and energy transfer in physical matter.

1st Law of Thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created or annihilated, only converted or transferred.

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

Energy spreads out spontaneously, resulting in increased entropy.

Metabolic Pathway

A sequence of chemical reactions involved in the synthesis, modification, or breakdown of organic molecules.

Catabolic Pathways

Processes that produce energy by decomposing larger molecules.

Anabolic Pathways

Processes that consume energy to create larger molecules.

Reactant

A substance that enters into a chemical reaction and undergoes change.

Product

A substance that is formed as a result of a chemical reaction.

Activation Energy

The initial amount of energy required to initiate a chemical reaction.

Active Site

The region on an enzyme where substrates attach and the reaction takes place.

Induced Fit

The phenomenon where an enzyme changes shape slightly to accommodate a substrate.

Competitive Inhibition

A situation in which an inhibitor competes with a substrate for binding to the active site of an enzyme.

Noncompetitive Inhibition

An inhibitor that attaches to a site on the enzyme other than the active site, changing its shape.

Allosteric Site

A regulatory site on an enzyme where molecules can bind to modulate its activity.

Lock and Key Model

A theory that explains how enzymes fit precisely with specific substrates.

Substrate

The molecule that interacts with an enzyme in a reaction.