Enzymes and Digestion: Review

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Do Now: On your handout list the different parts of the digestive system. If you know their functions, list that as well.

What are all enzymes made up of?

Almost all enzymes are proteins that are made up of amino acid chains (Amoeba Sisters, 2016).

What are the 2 main functions of enzymes?

The two main functions of enzymes are speeding up the efficiency and process of a reaction and binding to molecules and altering them in special ways (Amoeba Sisters, 2016).

Gist (Main Idea of Paragraph)

Enzymes are essential protein compounds found in all living organisms and considered necessary since they act as catalysts and speed up chemical reactions, allowing cells to work correctly.

Enzymes are compounds that assist chemical reactions by increasing the rate at which they occur. For example, the food that you eat is broken down by digestive enzymes into tiny pieces that are small enough to travel through your bloodstream and enter cells. Enzymes are proteins that are found in all living organisms. Without enzymes, most chemicals reactions within cells would occur so slowly that cells would not be able to work properly.

Enzymes function as catalysts. Catalysts accelerate the rate of a chemical reaction without being destroyed or changed. They can be reused for the same chemical reaction over and over, just like a key can be reused to open a door many times. Enzymes are generally named after the substrate affected, and their names usually end in “-ase.” For example, enzymes that break down proteins are called proteases. While lipases break down lipids, carbohydrases break down carbohydrates.

The compounds that enzymes act upon are known as substrates. The substrate can bind to a specific place in the enzyme called the active site. By temporarily binding to the substrate, an enzyme can lower the energy needed for a reaction to occur, thus making this reaction faster. The energy required for a chemical reaction to occur is known as the activation energy. Once the reaction between an enzyme and a substrate is complete, the substrate is changed to a product while the enzyme remains unchanged. The rate of the reaction between an enzyme and a substrate can be affected by different factors. Some of the factors that can affect enzyme activity are temperature, pH, concentration of the enzyme and concentration of the substrate. In living organisms, enzymes work best at certain temperatures and pH values depending on the type of enzyme.

Talk Back (Questions about Paragraph)

How do enzymes appear in people’s organisms?

Are there artificial ways of removing enzymes and letting cells work correctly without them?

Using your knowledge of enzymes and what you have just learned and read, answer the following questions.

What are enzymes?

Enzymes are essential protein compounds found in all living organisms (Amoeba Sisters, 2016).

What is a catalyst?

A catalyst is a certain substance that increases a chemical reaction’s rate without being changed or destroyed.

How do enzymes work?

The substrate and the enzyme get in the same area, and the enzyme grabs on to the substrate at the active site. Catalysis happens, and the enzyme releases a particular product.

What is an example of an enzyme and what does your example break down/digest?

Trypsin is a particular enzyme found in the small intestine, and its purpose is to break proteins down into amino acids.

Reference

Amoeba Sisters. (2016). Enzymes (Updated) [Video]. YouTube. Web.