Grade 11 Chapter 5 Biology

Chapter 5 ENZYMES
5.1 What are enzymes?

Enzymes are proteins that function as biological catalysts. A catalyst is a molecule that speeds
up a chemical reaction but remains unchanged at the end of the reaction.
Living organisms carry out many metabolic reactions like building of large molecules from
smaller ones or the breakdown of large molecules into smaller ones e.g. digestion of food, photo-
synthesis, respiration, protein synthesis, and blood clotting. Enzymes increase the rate of all
these reactions. Without enzymes, these reactions would be very slow.
The substance upon which an enzyme acts is called the substrate.

The substance produced at the end of the chemical reaction is called product.
Starch amylase maltose

Substrate enzyme product
Characteristics of enzymes
• Enzymes are specialized proteins produced in living cells.
• Enzymes are biological catalyst that speed up or increase the rate of chemical reactions in
living cells.
• Enzymes remain unchanged at the end of a chemical reaction. Thus the enzyme can be
used again and again. A small amount of enzyme is sufficient for a large amount of sub-
strates.
• Enzymes are specific in their action i.e one enzyme acts on one particular substrate.
Starch amylase maltose

Protein amylase_ no reaction
Protein protease amino acids
Lipids lipase fatty acids and glycerol
For the enzyme to act on a substrate, their shapes must be complementary.

• Enzyme activity is influenced by temperature and pH.
• Enzymes are denatured by high temperatures, strong acids and strong alkalis. Denatura-
tion is an irreversible change in the 3-dimensional structure of an enzyme.
Denatured enzymes can no longer bind with substrate to form the enzyme substrate complex.
• Enzymes catalyse reversible reactions.
e.g starch maltose
substrate product
• Enzymes work best at a temperature called optimum temperature.
• Enzymes work best at a pH called optimum pH.
Lock and Key hypothesis

An enzyme acts by the lock and key hypothesis.
The substrate molecule fits into the active site of the enzyme molecule because their shapes are
complementary.
The substrate molecule combines with the enzyme molecule to form the enzyme substrate com-
plex. Then the chemical reaction occurs.
The substrate molecule is converted into the end product molecule while the enzyme molecule
remains unchanged.
After the reaction, the end product is released because it no longer fits the enzyme.
In the lock and key hypothesis, the enzyme action depends on the active site of the enzyme. Ac -
tive sites are depressions on the surface of an enzyme molecule into which the substrate mole-
cule(s) can fit just like a lock and a key. When the substrate binds to the enzyme, the enzyme
substrate complex is formed. This complex brings the necessary reaction that converts the sub-
strate into product. The product separates, leaving the enzyme free again to combine with more
substrate. This mode of action is called the lock and key hypothesis because only one type of
substrate fits into the active site of the enzyme; just like only one key fits into a lock
5.2 Measuring the progress of enzyme catalyzed reaction
There are 2 ways to measure the progress of a reaction catalyzed by enzyme:-

• The time taken for the product to appear
• The time taken for the substrate to disappear
Effect of temperature on rate of enzyme reaction

Graph pg 63 fig 5.5
At 0oC -rate of reaction is zero. This is because enzymes are inactive.
0oC to 40oC - rate of reaction increases with temperature because the enzyme and substrate
molecules are gaining kinetic energy. The molecules move faster and substrate fits into the ac-
tive site of enzyme and products are formed faster. The frequency of effective collisions in-
creases with an increase in temperature.
From 0oC to 40o C, for each 10o rise in temperature, the rate of reaction doubles.
At a certain temperature, the rate of reaction is maximum. This is the optimum temperature. At
this temperature enzyme activity is highest. The optimum temperature for most enzymes is
about 40oC.
40oC to 60oC - as temperature increases beyond 40oC, rate of enzyme reaction decreases and fi-
nally stops at about 60oC. This is because enzyme molecule is denatured at high temperatures.
At 60oC all enzymes are denatured and rate of reaction is zero.
Effect of pH on rate of enzyme reaction (page 64 figure 5.6)

Acidity or alkalinity is measured by a value known as pH. With pH we can know how strong an
acid or alkali is. Each enzyme works best within a narrow range of pH. The pH at which en-
zyme activity is maximum is called the optimum pH.
Pepsin(in the stomach) works best at pH 2.

Salivary amylase (in the mouth) works best at pH 7.
Trypsin works best at pH 9.
When the pH is less or more than the optimum pH, enzyme activity decreases. At extremes of
pH that is when the pH is far away from the optimum pH, the bonds that maintain the specific
structure of the enzyme are broken, distorting the shape of the active site. The substrate can no
longer fit into the active site of the enzyme. At extremes of pH, rate of reaction is zero because
all enzymes are denatured.
Importances of enzymes
• In biological washing powders
Enzymes are put in biological washing powders like enzyme protease is added to remove
blood stains from clothes. Protease can break down the protein haemoglobin found in blood
into smaller colourless molecules that are then washed away. Lipase can remove fat stains.
• Uses of enzymes in seed germination

The seed contains an embryo (a small plant) and stored food reserves. Germination is the
process during which the food reserves present in a seed are broken down and the embryo starts
to grow by using the digested food. The food reserves are in the form of starch, proteins and
fats. Enzymes are essential for the digestion (break down) of the food reserves.
Starch ____________ maltose _____________ glucose
Protein ____________ amino acids
Fats ____________ fatty acids and glycerol
• In food industry
Enzymes are used to extract juice from fruits. E.g. Amylase is used in the production of
syrup from starch.

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Chapter 5 ENZYMES

5.1 What are enzymes?

The substance upon which an enzyme acts is called the substrate.

Starch amylase maltose

Starch amylase maltose

For the enzyme to act on a substrate, their shapes must be complementary.

Lock and Key hypothesis

5.2 Measuring the progress of enzyme catalyzed reaction

There are 2 ways to measure the progress of a reaction catalyzed by enzyme:-

Effect of temperature on rate of enzyme reaction

At 0oC -rate of reaction is zero. This is because enzymes are inactive.

Effect of pH on rate of enzyme reaction (page 64 figure 5.6)

Pepsin(in the stomach) works best at pH 2.

• Uses of enzymes in seed germination

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