Chapter 3: ActivitiesActivity 3.1 Activation Energy and Enzymes |
 |
Every second, our bodies carry out
thousands of chemical reactions to sustain life. These reactions require an initial input of
energy, or activation energy, to move the reactants into a transition state in which
chemical bonds can be broken and new bonds formed. Catalysts are atoms or molecules
that speed up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy required for the
reaction to occur. Enzymes are biological catalysts that function in the chemical reactions
in living organisms. The three-dimensional structure of an enzyme allows it to bind only
to specific reactants. Consequently, each enzyme catalyzes only one chemical reaction.
Activation Energy
and Catalysts Chapter 3, Section 3.3, The First Macromolecules |