AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Enzymes in our bodies are catalysts that speed up reactions by helping to lower the activation energy needed to start a reaction. Each enzyme molecule has a special place called the active site where another molecule, called the substrate, fits.

Detailed explanation-2: -Enzymes (and other catalysts) act by reducing the activation energy, thereby increasing the rate of reaction. The increased rate is the same in both the forward and reverse directions, since both must pass through the same transition state.

Detailed explanation-3: -Enzymes generally lower activation energy by reducing the energy needed for reactants to come together and react.

Detailed explanation-4: -Enzymes lower the activation energy necessary to transform a reactant into a product. On the left is a reaction that is not catalyzed by an enzyme (red), and on the right is one that is (green). In the enzyme-catalyzed reaction, an enzyme will bind to a reactant and facilitate its transformation into a product.

Detailed explanation-5: -Enzymes perform the critical task of lowering a reaction’s activation energy-that is, the amount of energy that must be put in for the reaction to begin. Enzymes work by binding to reactant molecules and holding them in such a way that the chemical bond-breaking and bond-forming processes take place more readily.