Enzyme Environmental Conditions

The activity of an Enzyme is affected by its environmental conditions and changing these factors can alter the overall rate of the reaction. Reaction rates are influenced by external factors such as pH, temperature and salt concentration. Different enzymes have different optimum temperatures in which they are most efficient and different pH levels which is ideal for their formation of enzyme-substrate complexes.
As the temperature increases, there is more movement of molecules and more random collisions between enzymes and substrates. This results in an increase in enzyme activity, but there is a limit to which enzyme activity can increase because at a certain temperature an enzyme will denature due to disruption of noncovalent bonds. Reactions
At lower temperatures, the substrate molecules do not have enough kinetic energy for the reaction to take place even with the presence of the enzyme. In summary, as the temperature increases, the rate of reaction will initially increase due to the increased Kinetic Energy present. However, as the effect of bond breaking becomes greater, the rate of reaction will then begin to decrease.
Another factor that affects enzyme activity is pH level which relates to the acidity and basicity of a solution and is a measure of the Hydrogen Ion (H+) concentration. The pH level changes the shape of enzymes by interacting with non-covalent bonds. H+ and OH- Ions are charged and interfere with Hydrogen and Ionic bonds that hold together an enzyme which will be attracted to or repelled by the charges created by the bonds. At a certain pH, the rate of reaction is at an optimum and is considered efficient. Any change in pH above or below this optimum level will quickly lead to a decrease in the rate of reaction, and as a