How do enzymes affect chemical reactions?(1 point) Responses They provide activation energy. They provide activation energy. They eliminate activation energy. They eliminate activation energy. They lower activation energy. They lower activation energy. They increase activation energy
They lower activation energy.
Enzymes lower activation energy.
Enzymes lower activation energy in a chemical reaction. Activation energy refers to the amount of energy needed to start a reaction. Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy required for the reaction to occur.
To understand how enzymes lower activation energy, we can look at the mechanism of enzyme action. Enzymes work by binding to specific molecules called substrates, forming an enzyme-substrate complex. This binding process brings the substrates in close proximity, allowing them to interact more readily and form products.
The active site of the enzyme, a specific region where the substrates bind, plays a crucial role in lowering activation energy. It provides an environment that facilitates the reaction and promotes the formation of the transition state, which is a high-energy intermediate state that leads to product formation. By stabilizing this transition state, enzymes reduce the amount of energy required to reach it, thus lowering the activation energy.
It's important to note that while enzymes lower activation energy, they do not change the overall energy profile or the equilibrium of the reaction. They simply provide an alternative pathway that requires less energy to convert the reactants into products.