Question
Enzymes such as lactase are biological catalysts. I Explain the role of enzymes in living cells. __
Answer
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Ollie
Veteran · Tutor for 11 years
Answer
The role of enzymes in living cells is to act as biological catalysts. They speed up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy, which is the minimum energy required for a reaction to occur. Enzymes are highly specific and only catalyze specific reactions due to their unique shapes. They play crucial roles in various biological processes, including digestion, DNA replication, protein synthesis, and metabolism. Without enzymes, these processes would occur too slowly to sustain life.
Explanation
## Step 1: Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts within living cells. A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process.## Step 2: Enzymes work by lowering the activation energy of a reaction. The activation energy is the minimum amount of energy required for a reaction to occur. By reducing this energy barrier, enzymes enable chemical reactions to proceed more quickly and at lower temperatures.## Step 3: Enzymes are highly specific, meaning each enzyme only catalyzes a specific type of reaction. This specificity is due to the unique shape of each enzyme, which allows it to bind to its substrate (the molecule it acts upon) in a process known as enzyme-substrate complex formation.## Step 4: Enzymes play crucial roles in various biological processes, including digestion, DNA replication, protein synthesis, and metabolism. Without enzymes, these processes would occur too slowly to sustain life.### The role of enzymes in living cells is to act as catalysts, speeding up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy required for these reactions to occur. They are essential for many biological processes and contribute to the efficiency and specificity of these processes.