Maintaining a Balance
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- Category: Science
- Date Submitted: 03/05/2011 01:43 AM
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Maintaining a Balance
1. Most organisms are active in a limited temperature range
identify the role of enzymes in metabolism, describe their chemical composition and use a simple model to describe their specificity on substrates
• Enzymes are biological catalysts. They lower the energy required to start a chemical reaction within a cell but do not get used up by that reaction. Every reaction and process within a cell (metabolism) is controlled by a specific enzyme.
• Enzymes are globular proteins whose shapes are specialized so that other chemicals (substrates) can form a temporary bond with them.
• Lock-key model is where only one small part of the enzyme molecule can form a complex with the substrate. This part of the molecule is called the active site. Only a specific substrate(s) can bond in that site and this makes the enzyme specific to that substrate.
• The Induced fit model proposes that the active site slightly changes its shape to accommodate the substrate perfectly.
• Pepsin – breaks down protein in stomach.
• Lipase – breaks down fat in intestine.
• Salivary amylase – breaks down starch in mouth.
identify the pH as a way of describing the acidity of a substance
• pH is a scale related to the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution.
• A pH of 0 - 6 indicates an acid solution, a pH of 7 indicates a neutral solution and a pH of 8-14 indicates a basic solution.
explain why the maintenance of a constant internal environment is important for optimal metabolic efficiency
• Enzymes control all the metabolic processes in the body; therefore it is important that they function at their optimum level.
• Enzymes work most efficiently under optimal conditions. For optimal conditions to occur, organisms control body temperature, pH, enzyme/substrate concentration and the removal/absorption of water.
• If conditions are not met, they may be denatured (active site destroyed) or reduced...
1. Most organisms are active in a limited temperature range
identify the role of enzymes in metabolism, describe their chemical composition and use a simple model to describe their specificity on substrates
• Enzymes are biological catalysts. They lower the energy required to start a chemical reaction within a cell but do not get used up by that reaction. Every reaction and process within a cell (metabolism) is controlled by a specific enzyme.
• Enzymes are globular proteins whose shapes are specialized so that other chemicals (substrates) can form a temporary bond with them.
• Lock-key model is where only one small part of the enzyme molecule can form a complex with the substrate. This part of the molecule is called the active site. Only a specific substrate(s) can bond in that site and this makes the enzyme specific to that substrate.
• The Induced fit model proposes that the active site slightly changes its shape to accommodate the substrate perfectly.
• Pepsin – breaks down protein in stomach.
• Lipase – breaks down fat in intestine.
• Salivary amylase – breaks down starch in mouth.
identify the pH as a way of describing the acidity of a substance
• pH is a scale related to the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution.
• A pH of 0 - 6 indicates an acid solution, a pH of 7 indicates a neutral solution and a pH of 8-14 indicates a basic solution.
explain why the maintenance of a constant internal environment is important for optimal metabolic efficiency
• Enzymes control all the metabolic processes in the body; therefore it is important that they function at their optimum level.
• Enzymes work most efficiently under optimal conditions. For optimal conditions to occur, organisms control body temperature, pH, enzyme/substrate concentration and the removal/absorption of water.
• If conditions are not met, they may be denatured (active site destroyed) or reduced...