How Does Temperature Affect Enzyme Activity
Enzymes are catalysts that increase the rate of chemical reactions organisms, allowing cells to break or build things instantly.
The structure of an enzyme is essential to its function. Enzymes are proteins, made up of 100-1000 amino acids bonded together in chains. These chains are folded/coiled into a unique 3-D structure that allows them to bind to a reactant, called a substrate at an active site. Enzymes are flexible, and therefore can change it’s shape to better accommodate its substrate; this is the induced fit model (D. Fraser, 50). When an enzyme binds to a substrate, it is called the enzyme substrate complex, where the substrate is then converted into different products. As an enzyme is not a part the reaction, it remains unchanged and therefore can continue binding to other substrate molecules, catalysing the same reaction repeatedly (D. Fraser, 51). …show more content…
Temperature affects enzymes in two different ways: by increasing the kinetic motion of molecules, changing the rate of collisions between them and the hydrogen bonds it’s 3D structure(D. Fraser, 55). There is a specific temperature for every enzyme where activity is maximized, and also where an enzyme becomes denatured. An enzyme becomes denatured when it is heated at extreme temperature; the excessive kinetic movement of the amino acid begins to break the hydrogen bonds holding its 3D structure together, typically around 70℃.
Another factor that can affect enzyme activity is substrate concentration. This is due to the amount of active sites available for an enzyme to bind at. When an enzyme concentration is constant but substrate concentration is increasing, a saturation point can be reached. This is where the enzymes are saturated with substrate (D. Fraser,
The structure of an enzyme is essential to its function. Enzymes are proteins, made up of 100-1000 amino acids bonded together in chains. These chains are folded/coiled into a unique 3-D structure that allows them to bind to a reactant, called a substrate at an active site. Enzymes are flexible, and therefore can change it’s shape to better accommodate its substrate; this is the induced fit model (D. Fraser, 50). When an enzyme binds to a substrate, it is called the enzyme substrate complex, where the substrate is then converted into different products. As an enzyme is not a part the reaction, it remains unchanged and therefore can continue binding to other substrate molecules, catalysing the same reaction repeatedly (D. Fraser, 51). …show more content…
Temperature affects enzymes in two different ways: by increasing the kinetic motion of molecules, changing the rate of collisions between them and the hydrogen bonds it’s 3D structure(D. Fraser, 55). There is a specific temperature for every enzyme where activity is maximized, and also where an enzyme becomes denatured. An enzyme becomes denatured when it is heated at extreme temperature; the excessive kinetic movement of the amino acid begins to break the hydrogen bonds holding its 3D structure together, typically around 70℃.
Another factor that can affect enzyme activity is substrate concentration. This is due to the amount of active sites available for an enzyme to bind at. When an enzyme concentration is constant but substrate concentration is increasing, a saturation point can be reached. This is where the enzymes are saturated with substrate (D. Fraser,