Enzymes

Introduction

Enzymes are protein catalysts which are crucial to life. Enzymes are proteins that help to spped up chemical reactions in the body. Without enzymes, many of the important processes of life could not happen. Enzymes are very specific in their functions. Each enzyme has only one reaction that it can help. Enzymes are not changed when they perform their function. This means that the same enzyme molecule can be used over and over again. As with all proteins, the shape of an enzyme is what determines its function. An organism has the ability to make many different enzymes, and each enzyme has one particular function (Mader, Biology).

Enzymes speed up chemical reaction in cells by lowering the activation energy needed to start the reaction. Without the enzyme present, no chemical reaction could proceed at a rate adequate to support life at the relatively low temperatures at which living organisms exist. Each living cell may have thousands of different enzymes. Each enzyme is very specific substrate(s) the beginning molecules of reaction. Each enzyme binds a specific substrate at the enzyme’s active site. This binding is shape-dependent. The binding of the substrate to the proper enzyme causes shape changes in the enzyme (induced fit model) which facilitates the conversion of the substrate(s) to the product(s)- the ending molecule of the reaction. Enzyme activity can be influenced by a variety of factors, including temperature, pH, and interactions with chemical inhibitors ( Ward, 2008). The lab group did three exercise in the lab, first to learn the assay and setting baseline reaction condition, second to observe the effect of enzyme concentration on float time, and the last one to observe the effect of temperature on float time. The experiments were to determine the effect of various factors on the rate of reaction between an enzyme and its substrate, and also to determine the optimal ranges under which