Enzyme Lab Report

This unique shape of an enzyme causes specification and limits the type of substances that can bind to the enzyme’s active site. The active site is the site where the chemical reaction will take place and the substance or substances that bind to the active site are called substrates.

1. Both answers are correct. There are two different models for substrate binding: lock and key or induced fit. In the lock and key model, the active site of unbound enzymes fits perfectly with the complementary shape of its substrate. In the induced fit model, the enzyme changes shape to confirm to the substrate after binding.

Enzymes combine with reactant molecules (substrate) and bind them closely to one another. The three-dimensional shape of the enzyme molecule must be complementary to the shape of the substrate.

Figure 1.b shows the ‘Lock and Key’ model where two individual substrates meet the active site where

Once the enzyme-substrate complex has been established, the enzymes amino acid side chains convert the substrate to the product. The products are then released from the enzyme. The enzyme remains unchanged by the first reaction, thus is free to catalyze another reaction (Mitchell 2006).

For example, digesting food and fighting off infections both require the presence of enzymes. Enzymes are a group of proteins that are folded into complex shapes that allow smaller molecules to fit in them. The complex shape is very specific and uses a lock and key method. In other words, only a specific shape, the key, will combine with the enzyme causing a reaction to occur, the lock to unlocking. The specific shape that combines with the enzyme is called a substrate and the place where the two combine is called

2. Enzymes are used to regulate the rate of certain reactions without being chemically altered by the reaction itself. After each reaction process, the enzymes will separate from the product and can continue to be reused over and over again to catalyze other reactions. The reaction rate of enzymes will increase significantly if the concentration of substrate is increased because a higher concentration of substrate will allow enzymes bind to substrate particles more rapidly.

Enzyme is an essential concept in biology; they act as catalysts, speeding up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy. According to the Lock & Key model, a specific substrate joins with a specific enzyme at the active site, to form the enzyme-substrate complex; this brings the reactants closer together to facilitate chemical reactions (Ophardt).

Enzymes have things called ‘Active Sites’ this the spot where substrates bind and chemical reaction takes place. Each enzyme has a different shape, this allows the enzyme to receive only one type of

The way that the amino acids are arranged makes it specific for only one type of substrate. Once the correct substrate binds to the enzyme there are subtle changes made to the active site. This change is called an induced fit. Then the enzyme converts the substrate into products. Once the products are released, the enzyme returns to its original form.

When the substrate enters the active site of an enzyme, the conditions of the active site are altered slightly in order to increase the reactivity and cause the creation of more

Each enzyme is very specific and can only catalyze a certain reaction. The specific reaction catalyzed by an enzyme depends on the molecular structure and shape of a small area of the enzyme’s surface called the active site. The active site an attract and hold only its specific molecules. The target molecule that the enzyme attracts and acts upon is called the substrate. The substrate and the active site of the molecule must fit together very closely. Sometimes the enzyme changes its shape slightly to bring about the necessary fit.

Enzymes are natural catalysts that work from the ability to increase the rate of reaction by decreasing the activation energy of a reaction. (Blanco, Blanco 2017) An enzyme can do this 10^8- to 10^10 fold, sometimes even 10^15 fold. (Malacinsk, Freifelder 1998) The substrate will momentarily bind with the enzyme making the enzyme-substrate complex, of which the shape of the substrate is complimentary to the shape of the active site on the enzyme it is binding with. There are two main theories as to how an enzymes and substrates interact, the lock-and-key model and induced fit theory. The lock-and-key model suggests that the enzyme has a specific shape that fits the substrate and only that substrate. The induced fit theory says the active site and substrate are able to change shape or distort for the reaction to take place with (Cooper,

Lock and Key theory Enzymes are specific to a particular substrate molecule or a restricted group of substrate molecules. Surface area to volume Smaller organisms have larger surface area to volume ratio’s (surface area divided by volume) than larger ones. In principle the greater the surface area, the more active site in contact with the substrate therefore it increases the rate of reaction, and the thinner the separating layers. Another factor to consider is the larger the volume of the drop the more enzymes it contains inside it.

Enzymes owe their activity to the precise three-dimensional shape of their molecules. According to the 'lock-and-key' hypothesis, the substrates upon which an enzyme fit into a special slot in the enzyme