How Enzymes Work in the Home and in Industry Essay

Enzymes speed up metabolic reactions necessary for life. Without them certain vital processes would not take place and the body would be unable to function.

Enzymes are biologically active proteins that serve as catalysts; they have the ability to speed up chemical reactions. Without a catalyst many biochemical reactions will be carried out too slowly for the body to benefit. All sorts of enzymes occur naturally in our bodies, some help digest food. An enzyme such as amylase is present in saliva which breaks down starch into smaller maltose molecules. Without an enzyme holding the large molecule in position, this reaction will be extremely slow. Every reaction requires certain amount of energy to form. Enzymes lower the activation energy (amount energy required to be put into the reaction to begin). It does this by applying pressure to bonds that require s the molecule to break, or bring the molecules closer to bond. The molecules or chemicals the enzymes work on are called substrates, substrates then bind to the enzyme active site, once they bond to the active site, the enzyme will change shape to fit the substrate, and this is known as the induced fit model. All enzymes are specific to particular molecules or chemicals and are usually named after their substrate ‘ase’. For example lactase is an enzyme that breaks down lactose.

Enzymes are a key aspect in our everyday life and are a key to sustaining life. They are biological catalysts that help speed up the rate of reactions. They do this by lowering the activation energy of chemical reactions (Biology Department, 2011).

Introduction:Enzymes are made up of proteins which are produced within living cells and act as catalysts which speed up chemical reactions. They are made up of long chains of amino acids containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Enzymes are structured to be

Enzymes are biological catalysts, which accelerate the speed of chemical reactions in the body without being used up or changed in the process. Animals and plants contain enzymes which help break down fats, carbohydrates and proteins into smaller molecules the cells can use to get energy and carry out the processes that allow the plant or animal to survive. Without enzymes, most physiological processes would not take place. Hundreds of different types of enzymes are present in plant and animal cells and each is very specific in its function.

These results shown from this experiment led us to conclude that enzymes work best at certain pH rates. For this particular enzyme, pH 7 worked best. When compared to high levels of pH, the lower levels worked better. The wrong level of pH can denature enzymes; therefore finding the right level is essential. The independent variable was the amount of pH, and the dependent being the rate of oxygen. The results are reliable as they are reinforced by the fact that enzymes typically work best at neutral pH

Enzymes are a very important to the biological process. Enzymes help break down food and are essential in helping convert that food to energy. Enzymes have a single function, which makes them unique and need specific conditions in order for the reaction to occur. Every function in an organism has its own unique enzyme (What are enzymes?). One important thing to know about enzymes is that they are proteins. According to rsc.org enzymes are efficient catalysts for biochemical reactions and they, “speed up reactions by providing an alternative reaction pathway of lower activation energy” (Enzymes).

Almost all enzymes need specific conditions for them to function. The conditions include temperature, pH level, and concentration of salt. Enzymes have optimal conditions. If they are changed, the enzyme may denature and deactivate. If that happens, the enzyme would not be able to catalyze the reaction, and the reaction rate would decrease (Worthington 2010).

Organisms cannot depend solely on spontaneous reactions for the production of materials because they occur slowly and are not responsive to the organism's needs (Martineau, Dean, et al, Laboratory Manual, 43). In order to speed up the reaction process, cells use enzymes as biological catalysts. Enzymes are able to speed up the reaction through lowering activation energy. Additionally, enzymes facilitate reactions without being consumed (manual,43). Each enzyme acts on a specific molecule or set of molecules referred to as the enzyme's substrate and the results of this reaction are called products (manual 43). As a result, enzymes promote a reaction so that substrates are converted into products on a faster pace (manual 43). Most enzymes are proteins whose structure is determined by its sequence of its amino acids. Enzymes are designed to function the best under physiological conditions of PH and temperature. Any change of these variables that change the conformation of the enzyme will destroy or enhance enzyme activity(manual, 43).

Enzymes are central to every biochemical process. Due to their high specificity they are capable of catalyzing hundreds of reactions that signifies their vast practical importance.

Enzymes are very specific in nature, which helps them in reactions. When an enzyme recognizes its specific substrate, the

Enzymes are very efficient catalysts for biochemical reactions. They speed up reactions by providing an alternative reaction pathway of lower activation energy. Like all catalysts, enzymes take part in the reaction - that is how they provide an alternative reaction pathway. But they do not undergo permanent changes and so remain unchanged at the end of the reaction. They can only alter the rate of reaction, not the position of the equilibrium. Enzymes are usually highly selective, catalyzing specific reactions only. This specificity is due to the shapes of the enzyme molecules.

Without enzymes life would not be the same. We need enzymes for almost every chemical reaction that occurs in our bodies. Many industries rely on enzymes to help in their industrial chemical processes. Without enzymes we wouldn’t have cheese, detergent, or bread. We wouldn’t be able to drink milk or digest our food. Enzymes are often a forgotten part of our daily lives, but we couldn’t live without enzymes. Enzymes are natural catalysts that play a crucial role in the chemical processes of both our health and modern industry.

Enzymes are biological catalysts, which speed up the rate of reaction without being used up during the reaction, which take place in living organisms. They do this by lowering the activation energy. The activation energy is the energy needed to start the reaction.

Enzymes are catalysts that drastically speed up chemical reactions, so much so that these reactions can create/sustain life. The type of enzyme we will study in this lab are the Amylase enzymes. Amylase breaks starch into sugar by using the hydrolysis process. Hydrolysis is the action of adding water to a substance. Enzymes breaking down starches into sugars is important because the sugar can be used as energy.