Definition Enzymes are mainly proteins which function as biological catalysts.

. They can speed up chemical reactions without themselves being chemically changed at the end of the reaction. Enzymes can speed up chemical reactions by providing an alternative pathway with lower activation energy required to start a chemical reaction.

Answers to Food for Thought Q: Why should the eyes be closed in this activity? To simulate the random collisions between enzymes and substrates.

Q: What will happen if we were to dip the fingers into ice-cold water? The reaction rate will be lower as the enzyme is less active at lower temperatures.

Q: What will happen if there were 2 toothpickases instead of just 1 at each round of the activity? The reaction rate will be higher as enzyme concentration (the limiting factor) is increased.

3 things learnt today 1. Rate of enzymatic activity increases with increasing substrate concentration. However the rate of enzymatic activity will reach a plateau when enzyme saturation is reached. 2. Enzyme saturation occurs when every enzyme molecules is occupied by their substrates and the rate of reaction cannot be increased further. 3. A limiting factor directly affects the rate of a reaction. The rate of the reaction can only be increased if the value of the limiting factor is increased.

Definition Enzymes are mainly proteins which function as biological catalysts. They can speed up chemical reactions without themselves being chemically changed at the end of the reaction. Enzymes can speed up chemical reactions by providing an alternative pathway with lower activation energy required to start a chemical reaction.

Answers to Food for Thought Q: Why should the eyes be closed in this activity? To simulate the random collisions between enzymes and substrates.

Q: What will happen if we were to dip the fingers into ice-cold water? The reaction rate will be lower as the enzyme is less active at lower temperatures.

Q: What will happen if there were 2 toothpickases instead of just 1 at each round of the activity? The reaction rate will be higher as enzyme concentration (the limiting factor) is increased.

3 things learnt today 4. Rate of enzymatic activity increases with increasing substrate concentration. However the rate of enzymatic activity will reach a plateau when enzyme saturation is reached. 5. Enzyme saturation occurs when every enzyme molecules is occupied by their substrates and the rate of reaction cannot be increased further. 6. A limiting factor directly affects the rate of a reaction. The rate of the reaction can only be increased if the value of the limiting factor is increased.