Enzymes

Enzymes are biological catalysts – protein molecules What are enzymes?

that speed up chemical reactions. They catalyse
chemical reactions in living cells such.

Active sites What do catalysts do?

The shape of an enzyme determines how it works.
Enzymes have active sites that substrate molecules
(the substances involved in the chemical reaction) fit What are active sites?
into when a reaction happens.

The active site has to be the right shape for the

substrate molecules to fit into. This means that How do active sites work?
enzymes have a high specificity for their substrate –
a particular type of enzyme will only work with one
or a smaller number of substrates. What is the lock & key
mechanism?
The mechanism involved is called the 'lock and key'
mechanism. Just as a lock will only accept one key,
an enzyme will only accept one substrate. What is a substrate?