Enzymes revision

What are enzymes?

Enzymes are biological catalysts. They speed up chemical reactions in all living things, and allow them to occur more easily. They occur in plant cells and animal cells.

Enzymes are just chemical molecules, made up of proteins.

Each particular enzyme has a unique, 3-dimensional shape shared by all its molecules. Within this shape there is an area called the active site where the chemical reactions occur.

What do enzymes do?

Some enzymes help to break down large molecules.

Others build up large molecules from small ones.

While many others help turn one molecule into another.

Probably the fastest enzyme known is called catalase. It breaks the chemical hydrogen peroxide down to water and oxygen…