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Enzymes Determine The Rate Of Chemical Reactions

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Most enzymes are proteins that act to accelerate the rate of chemical reactions. Enzymes are amongst the largest and most highly specialized types of proteins (Cooper, 2000). They are commonly referred to as biological catalysts because they catalyze reactions that are essential for life. Enzymes allow life on earth to happen. Without enzymes, some reactions would take far too long and would not allow life to prosper. For example, a reaction that, by itself, takes years to occur, with an enzyme, can happen in a matter of seconds (Cooper, 2000). The way enzymes speed up the rate of chemical reactions is by lowering the activation energy of the reaction. The activation energy is the minimum amount of energy required for a chemical reaction to

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