How Does Temperature Affect The Rate Of An Enzyme

Enzymes lower the amount of energy needed in a chemical reaction. This happens because enzymes are catalysts, so they speed up the activation rates that occur in living organisms. Without enzymes, it would be difficult to break down particles like food in the digestion system. Enzymes are all very specific to what chemical reactions they will work with, and the temperature, pH, and salt concentration have to be a specific levels in order for the enzyme to function. The structure of each enzyme has a fixed shape in which a certain the substrate will fit into. The sequence of the amino acids in the enzyme determines the enzymes shape and structure. The substrate is a substance that needs to fit into the active site of the enzyme. This will activate the enzyme. Not all molecules that interact with the enzyme have to be a substrate because they could be activators or inhibitors. Activators will increase the reaction rate, while inhibitors will decrease the
The pH scale is a scale that measures how acidic or basic a solution is by looking at the is. It runs on a scale from 0 to 14, 0 being most acidic and 14 being most basic. Most enzymes will function best at the neutral level of 7, but very few will function at very high or very low pH. Changes in pH can alter the shape of an enzyme's active site because it can affect polar and nonpolar intramolecular attractions and repulsive forces. Basically, this can cause molecules within the cell to move around in different ways that ultimately change the shape of the enzyme. After the enzyme’s active site has changed shape, the substrate will not longer fit, causing the enzyme not work properly. “If the pH climbs to an unacceptably high value called alkalosis then enzymes cease to function effectively,” (Sang, 2013). To avoid changes in pH, buffers are used. Buffers are a substance found in the blood that prevent changes in pH levels, which helps enzymes to function