How does an enzyme interact with its substrate?
The surface of an enzyme contains areas called active sites that will bind to a specific substrate only. When the correct substrates are attached to the active sites (called an enzyme-substrate complex), the enzyme alters the shapes of the substrates in a way that promotes the reaction. All enzymes demonstrate this specificity to its substrates. To illustrate, an enzyme-substrate complex is like a “lock-and-key” model with the enzyme as the lock and the substrate as the key. Although many keys may fit the lock, only one type of key will make it work. 6. List three factors that increase the rates of enzyme-controlled reactions. The three factors are: a. an increase in the enzyme concentration, b. an increase in the substrate concentration, and c. the general efficiency of the particular enzyme. 7. How are enzymes usually named? Enzymes are generally named for the substrate it interacts with, plus the suffix “-ase”. For instance, the enzyme that interacts with lipids is called lipase. 8.
