2.

5 Enzymes
9C
Key Concept  Enzymes are catalysts for chemical reactions in
living things.
VOCABULARY MAIN IDEAS
catalyst A catalyst lowers activation energy.
enzyme Enzymes allow chemical reactions to occur under tightly controlled conditions.
substrate

Connect to Your World 

9C identify and investigate
the role of enzymes How can a Venus flytrap digest a frog? It happens through the action of proteins
called enzymes. Enzymes help to start and run chemical reactions in living things. For
example, enzymes are needed to break down food into smaller molecules that cells
can use. Without enzymes, a Venus flytrap couldn’t break down its food, and neither
could you.

MAIN IDEA
A catalyst lowers activation energy.
Remember what you learned about activation energy in Section 4. Activation
energy for a chemical reaction is like the energy that is needed to push a rock
up a hill. When enough energy is added to get the rock to the top of a hill, the
rock can roll down the other side by itself. Activation energy gives a similar
push to a chemical reaction. Once a chemical reaction starts, it can continue
by itself, and it will go at a certain rate.
Often, the activation energy for a chemical reaction comes from an
increase in temperature. But even after a chemical reaction starts, it may
happen very slowly. The reactants may not interact enough, or they may not be
at a high enough concentration, to quickly form the products of the reaction.
However, both the activation energy and rate of a chemical reaction can be
changed by a chemical catalyst, as shown in Figure 5.1. A catalyst (kat-l-ihst)
is a substance that decreases the activation energy needed to start a chemical
reaction and, as a result, also increases the rate of the chemical reaction.

Figure 5.1  CATALYSTS AND ACTIVATION ENERGY

Under normal conditions, a
certain amount of activation
energy is needed to start a Normal reaction
chemical reaction. A catalyst activation energy
decreases the activation (uncatalyzed) Catalyzed reaction
energy needed.
products
Energy

reactants
activation energy
(catalyzed)

Reaction progress

56  Unit 1: Introducing Biology

 Compare the activation energies and the reaction rates in the graph in
figure 5.1. Under normal conditions, the reaction requires a certain amount of
activation energy, and it occurs at a certain rate. When a catalyst is present,
less energy is needed and the products form faster. Although catalysts take
part in chemical reactions, catalysts are not considered to be either reactants
or products because catalysts are not changed or used up during a reaction.
Summarize  Describe two functions of catalysts in chemical reactions. 9C

MAIN IDEA 9C

Enzymes allow chemical reactions to occur under

tightly controlled conditions.
Chemical reactions in organisms have to take place at an organism’s body
temperature. Often, reactants are found in low concentrations. Because the
reactions must take place very quickly, they usually need a catalyst. Enzymes
are catalysts for chemical reactions in living things. Enzymes, like other
catalysts, lower the activation energy and increase the rate of chemical reac-
tions. In reactions that are reversible, such as the carbon dioxide and carbonic
acid reaction described in Section 4, enzymes do not affect chemical equilib-
rium. This means that enzymes do not change the direction of a reaction—
they just change the amount of time needed for equilibrium to be reached.
Enzymes are involved in almost every process in organisms. From breaking
down food to building proteins, enzymes are needed. For example, amylase is
an enzyme in saliva that breaks down starch into simpler sugars. This reaction
occurs up to a million times faster with amylase than without it. Enzymes are
also an important part of your immune system, as shown in figure 5.2.
Almost all enzymes are proteins.
These enzymes, like other proteins, are
long chains of amino acids. Each enzyme
also depends on its structure to function
(cr) ©Biology Media/Photo Researchers, Inc.; (br) ©Dr. Gopal Murti/Photo Researchers, Inc.

properly. Conditions such as temperature

and pH can affect the shape and func-
tion, or activity, of an enzyme. Enzymes
work best in a small temperature range
around the organism’s normal body
temperature. At only slightly higher
temperatures, the hydrogen bonds in an
enzyme may begin to break apart. The
enzyme’s structure changes, and it loses
its ability to function. This is one reason
why a very high fever is so dangerous to
a person. A change in pH can also affect
the hydrogen bonds in enzymes. Many Figure 5.2  The inset micrograph (top) shows a white blood cell engulfing
enzymes in humans work best at the an invading pathogen. The larger micrograph shows a pathogen after it has
been captured. Once inside a white blood cell, enzymes are used to destroy
nearly neutral pH that is maintained
the pathogen. (inset image: colored SEM; magnification about 30003; large image:
within cells of the human body. colored TEM; magnification 11,0003)

Chapter 2: Chemistry of Life  57

 CONNECT TO Enzyme structure is important because each enzyme’s shape allows only
Biochemistry certain reactants to bind to the enzyme. The specific reactants that an enzyme
The order of amino acids
acts on are called substrates. For example, amylase only breaks down starch.
determines the structure and Therefore, starch is the substrate for amylase. Substrates temporarily bind to
function of an enzyme. An enzymes at specific places called active sites. In the same way that a key fits
enzyme’s structure often into a lock, substrates exactly fit the active sites of enzymes. This is why, if
depends on hydrogen bonds
between amino acids. an enzyme’s structure changes, it may not work at all. This idea of enzyme
function, which is called the lock-and-key model, is shown below.
substrates product
(reactants)

enzyme
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Substrates bind to an The enzyme brings The catalyzed reaction
enzyme at certain places substrates together and forms a product that is
Enzyme Action called active sites. weakens their bonds. released from the enzyme.

The lock-and-key model helps explain how enzymes work. First, enzymes
bring substrate molecules close together. Because of the low concentrations of
reactants in cells, many reactions would be unlikely to take place without
enzymes bringing substrates together. Second, enzymes decrease activation
energy. When substrates bind to the enzyme at the enzyme’s active site, the
bonds inside these molecules become strained. If bonds are strained, or
stretched slightly out of their normal positions, they become weaker. Less
activation energy is needed for these slightly weakened bonds to be broken.
The lock-and-key model is a good starting point for understanding
enzyme function. However, scientists have found that the structures of en-
zymes are not fixed in place. Instead, enzymes actually bend slightly when
they are bound to their substrates. In terms of a lock and key, it is as if the lock
bends around the key to make the key fit better. The bending of the enzyme is
one way in which bonds in the substrates are weakened.
Apply  How does the structure of an enzyme affect its function? 9C

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Reviewing    Main Ideas Critical thinking CONNECT TO

1. How does a catalyst affect the 3. Infer  Some organisms live in very Homeostasis
activation energy of a chemical hot or very acidic environments. 5. Organisms need to maintain
reaction? Would their enzymes function in a homeostasis, or stable
2. Describe how the interaction person’s cells? Why or why not? internal conditions. Why is
between an enzyme and its 9C homeostasis important for
substrates changes a chemical 4. Predict  Suppose that the amino the function of enzymes?
9C
reaction. 9C acids that make up an enzyme’s active
site are changed. How might this
change affect the enzyme? 9C

58  Unit 1: Introducing Biology