Enzymes are used in many processes in both plants and animals - Leaving Cert Biology - Question c - 2011
Question c
Enzymes are used in many processes in both plants and animals.
(i) What is an enzyme?
(ii) Name any one enzyme, and its substrate, and its product.
(iii) The rate... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Enzymes are used in many processes in both plants and animals - Leaving Cert Biology - Question c - 2011
Step 1
What is an enzyme?
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Answer
An enzyme is a biological catalyst that accelerates chemical reactions in living organisms by lowering the activation energy required for the reaction to occur. Enzymes are typically proteins made up of long chains of amino acids and are specific to particular substrates.
Step 2
Name any one enzyme, and its substrate, and its product.
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Answer
One example of an enzyme is Catalase. The substrate for Catalase is Hydrogen Peroxide, and the products of the reaction are water and oxygen.
Step 3
Name any two factors that can affect enzyme activity.
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Two factors that can affect enzyme activity include temperature and pH level. Enzymes generally have optimal temperature and pH ranges where they function best, and deviations from these conditions can lead to decreased activity or denaturation.
Step 4
What is meant by the term immobilised in relation to enzymes?
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Immobilised enzymes are enzymes that are attached to an inert, insoluble material, which prevents them from mixing freely with the substrates. This allows for the enzymes to be used repeatedly in industrial processes while making it easy to separate them from the products.
Step 5
Give one advantage of using immobilised enzymes?
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One advantage of using immobilised enzymes is that they can be reused multiple times, which reduces the cost of enzyme production and increases the efficiency of the process.
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