Enzymes

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  • Enzymes
    • Enzymes are catalysts produced by living things
      • Reactions need to be carefully controlled
      • There is a limit to how far you can raise the temperature inside a living creature before its cells start getting damaged
      • Living things produce enzymes that act as a biological catalysts
      • Enzymes reduce the need for high temperature and we only have enzymes to speed up useful chemical reactions in the body
      • A catalyst is a substance which increases the speed of a reaction, without being changed or used up in the reaction
      • Enzymes are all proteins and all proteins are made up of chains of amino acids, these chains are folded up into a unique shapes.
    • They have special shapes
      • Every enzyme has a unique shape that fits onto the substance involved in a reaction
      • They usually only catalyse one reaction
      • For the enzyme to work, the substance has to fit its special shape. if the substance doesn't match the enzymes shape, then the reaction wont be catalysed.
    • They need the right temperature and pH
      • Changing the temperature changes the rate of an enzyme - catalyst reaction
      • If it gets too hot, some off the bonds holding the enzyme together break, which destroys the enzymes special shape
        • This is when it become denatured
      • If the pH is too high or low, the pH interferes with the bonds holding the enzyme together

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