What are enzymes GCSE Bitesize?
What are enzymes GCSE Bitesize?
Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts – this means they speed up reactions without being used up. An enzyme works on the substrate , forming products. An enzyme’s active site and its substrate are complementary in shape. The substrates are broken down (or in some cases built up).
What are enzymes made of BBC Bitesize?
proteins
Enzymes are proteins that have a complex 3D shape. Each enzyme has a region called an active site . The substrate – the molecule or molecules taking part in the chemical reaction – fits into the active site. Once bound to the active site, the chemical reaction takes place .
What are enzymes in biology?
An enzyme is a biological catalyst and is almost always a protein. It speeds up the rate of a specific chemical reaction in the cell. A cell contains thousands of different types of enzyme molecules, each specific to a particular chemical reaction.
What are examples of enzymes?
Examples of specific enzymes
- Lipases – a group of enzymes that help digest fats in the gut.
- Amylase – helps change starches into sugars.
- Maltase – also found in saliva; breaks the sugar maltose into glucose.
- Trypsin – found in the small intestine, breaks proteins down into amino acids.
What are the different types of enzymes?
The six kinds of enzymes are hydrolases, oxidoreductases, lyases, transferases, ligases and isomerases.
What is an enzyme made of?
Enzymes are proteins comprised of amino acids linked together in one or more polypeptide chains. This sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain is called the primary structure. This, in turn, determines the three-dimensional structure of the enzyme, including the shape of the active site.
What are enzymes short answer?
What is an enzyme? An enzyme is a substance that acts as a catalyst in living organisms, regulating the rate at which chemical reactions proceed without itself being altered in the process. The biological processes that occur within all living organisms are chemical reactions, and most are regulated by enzymes.
What are digestive enzymes?
Digestive enzymes. Digestion is the breakdown of large, insoluble food molecules into small, water-soluble molecules using mechanical and chemical processes. Mechanical digestion includes: Chemical digestion involves enzymes.
How do enzymes work?
Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts – this means they speed up reactions without being used up. An enzyme works on the substrate, forming products. An enzyme’s active site and its substrate are complementary in shape.
Why is the shape of an enzyme’s active site important?
In an organism, the active site of each enzyme is a different shape. It is a perfect match to the shape of the substrate molecule, or molecules. This is essential to the enzyme being able to work.
What is the lock and key model of enzyme activity?
This theory is known as the ‘lock and key model’. It explains why each enzyme will only work on one substrate. For example, the active site of amylase is only complementary to starch and will therefore only break down starch, not protein or fat.
