Enzymes
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What are Enzymes?
- Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions without being changed or used up.
- They are proteins made of amino acids.
- Enzymes are necessary for life — they maintain metabolic reaction speeds at a rate that sustains life.
- Without digestive enzymes, digesting a meal would take 2–3 weeks; with enzymes it takes ~4 hours.
Enzyme Action & Specificity
- Each enzyme has an active site with a specific 3D shape complementary to its substrate.
- This is the lock and key hypothesis: only a substrate of the correct shape fits the active site.
- When substrate binds, an enzyme-substrate complex forms; the reaction occurs and products are released.
- The enzyme is unchanged and can catalyse further reactions.
- Enzymes and substrates collide randomly in solution; a successful collision forms the complex.
Lock and key model of enzyme action

Effect of Temperature
- Enzymes have an optimum temperature (e.g. 37 °C in the human body).
- From 0 °C to optimum, increasing temperature gives molecules more kinetic energy, increasing collisions and rate of reaction.
- Above the optimum, bonds holding the enzyme's shape break — the enzyme denatures (active site changes shape).
- Denaturation is irreversible; substrate can no longer fit the active site, so activity stops.
- Low temperatures do not denature enzymes; they only slow the reaction.
Effect of temperature on the rate of an enzyme-controlled reaction

Effect of pH
- Most enzymes have an optimum pH near 7, but some work best at acidic pH (e.g. pepsin in stomach, pH 2) or alkaline pH (e.g. in duodenum, pH 8–9).
- Extreme pH breaks bonds in the protein, denaturing the enzyme and altering the active site.
- Moving away from optimum pH reduces activity; far from optimum, denaturation occurs and activity stops.
Effect of pH on the rate of an enzyme-controlled reaction

Enzyme Investigations
- Temperature investigation: Heat starch solution to set temp, add amylase, sample every minute into iodine. Time until iodine stays orange-brown (no starch) measures activity.
- pH investigation: Mix amylase, buffer (pH), and starch; sample every 10 s into iodine. Shorter time to orange-brown = faster reaction at that pH.
- Iodine test: Iodine turns blue-black in presence of starch; orange-brown means starch is fully digested.
- Control variables: temperature, pH, enzyme/substrate concentration.
Investigating the effect of temperature on amylase activity

Key Terms
- Catalyst: substance that speeds up a reaction without being changed.
- Substrate: molecule(s) that bind to the enzyme's active site.
- Active site: region on the enzyme where the reaction occurs.
- Denaturation: irreversible loss of enzyme shape (active site) due to heat or extreme pH.
- Optimum: condition (temperature or pH) at which an enzyme works fastest.
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Câu hỏi luyện tập
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1.Which of the following statements about enzymes is correct?
Easy- AEnzymes are used up during chemical reactions.
- BEnzymes are biological catalysts that speed up reactions without being changed.
- CEnzymes are made of carbohydrates.
- DEnzymes increase the activation energy of reactions.
2.All enzymes are composed of which type of biological molecule?
Easy- ACarbohydrates
- BLipids
- CProteins
- DNucleic acids
3.The diagram shows the lock and key model of enzyme action. Which part of the enzyme is represented by the 'lock'?
Easy- AThe substrate
- BThe active site
- CThe product
- DThe enzyme-substrate complex
4.A student investigates the effect of temperature on the activity of amylase. Which statement describes what happens to the enzyme at 80°C?
Easy- AThe enzyme works faster due to increased kinetic energy.
- BThe enzyme is denatured and its active site changes shape.
- CThe enzyme is reversibly inhibited.
- DThe enzyme remains unchanged but the substrate is destroyed.
5.In an experiment to investigate the effect of pH on amylase activity, a student uses iodine solution as an indicator. What colour change indicates that starch is still present?
Easy- AOrange-brown to blue-black
- BBlue-black to orange-brown
- COrange-brown to colourless
- DBlue-black to colourless
6.What is the optimum pH for the enzyme pepsin, which is secreted in the stomach?
Easy- ApH 2
- BpH 7
- CpH 8
- DpH 10
7.The graph shows the effect of temperature on the rate of an enzyme-controlled reaction. Which statement explains the shape of the graph between 0°C and the optimum temperature?
Medium- AEnzyme molecules gain kinetic energy and collide more frequently with substrate.
- BEnzyme molecules are denatured gradually.
- CSubstrate molecules are broken down faster by heat alone.
- DThe active site becomes more complementary to the substrate.
8.Which of the following elements are all enzymes composed of?
Easy- ACarbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen
- BCarbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur
- CCarbon, hydrogen, oxygen
- DCarbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus
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