Question

Which of the following correctly explains the role of enzymes in biochemical reactions? (2 points)

Answer 1

Answer:

Enzymes bond with one or more reactants and lower the activation energy needed for the reaction.

Explanation:

Enzymes are bio-catalysts which speed up a chemical/bio-chemical reaction in two ways (1) by lowering activation energy & (2) by producing binding energy.

Most of the reactions are slow because of transition state barriers. Transition state is a state which has very high energy and reaching this energy state is really difficult so the enzymes react with one or more substrate molecules to produce an enzyme-substrate complex which is very stable. By doing this, enzymes provide an alternate pathway for the reaction to proceed which demands less energy. Apart from this enzymes also produce binding energy for a reaction to proceed. As soon as a substrate enters the active site of an enzyme, the water molecules which are present inside the active site of enzyme get displaced. As a result of this displacement, the hydrogen bonds which exist between water molecules and enzyme break and energy is produced. This energy is utilized for the chemical reaction to proceed.  

Answer 2

 The correct answer is
Enzymes bond with one or more reactants and lower the activation energy needed for the reaction.