Combined ScienceCode 5129
Enzyme action
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- Describe a catalyst as a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction while not itself being changed by it
- Describe enzymes as a kind of protein that acts as a biological catalyst
- Understand that most enzymes work inside the cell where they are made, which is how a cell keeps control of its metabolic activities
- account for how an enzyme works, referring to the substrate, active site, enzyme-substrate complex and product
- account for enzyme specificity in terms of the active site's complementary shape and how well it fits the substrate
- Investigate and explain how changing temperature and pH alters enzyme activity, using the ideas of denaturation, kinetic energy, shape and fit, and the frequency of effective collisions