Enzymes
Warm up
Grab warm up and complete
 We will be putting this into your journal
 When you are done with your warm up
look over your Vocab 1-1, you have a quiz
today

Biomolecule review

Cellulose, a structural component of the
cell wall of plants and some forms of
algae, is mainly used to produce paper and
cardboard products. Cellulose would be
an example of which type of biomolecule
◦
◦
◦
◦
Nucleic acid
Lipid
Protein
Carbohydrate
Biomolecule review

Like complex carbohydrates, proteins are
biomolecules that serve many functions
and can be chemically broken down and
restructured. Both proteins and complex
carbohydrates are which of the following?
◦
◦
◦
◦
Polymers of smaller subunits
Sequences of sugars
Lipids of large molecules
Nucleotides of DNA
Notebook
Put in new vocab right after biomolecules
 Title next page Enzymes (don’t forget to
put it in you table of contents!


Enzymes EQ: What is the role of enzymes
in biological processes?
Secret message

Why do you think the slip of paper
turned blue everywhere except for your
secret message?
Cracker Lab
In this experiment you will observe the action of
the enzyme amylase on starch. Amylase breaks
starch down into a simpler form: the sugar
maltose, and has a bit of a sweet taste. Amylase
is present in our saliva, and begins to act on the
starch in our food while still in our mouth. This
enzyme (with our teeth) is where food first starts
to break down.
 Do you think that the cracker will start to taste
different as amylase starts to act on it?
 Do you think that the cracker will start to
dissolve without you chewing on it?

Enzyme reading and questions
Read the article on enzymes and answer
the questions in your notebook
 Do NOT write on the handouts!

Paperclip activity
What is a paper clip’s function?
 Is it related to it’s shape?
 Take one of your paperclips and unbend it
into a straight line
 Can the paper clip still complete its
function?
 Enzymes work like a paperclip, the
function depends on it’s shape

What is a paper clip’s function?
 Is it related to it’s shape?
 Take one of your paperclips and unbend it
into a straight line
 Can the paper clip still complete its
function?
 Enzymes work like a paperclip, the
function depends on it’s shape

What is an enzyme?
A very important protein!
 It acts as a biological catalyst
 All chemical reactions in your body
require enzymes

What is a catalyst?
A substance that speeds up a chemical
reaction
 It is not consumed

What are the parts of an enzyme?
Active site – location on the enzyme
where reaction occurs
 Substrate – substance that an enzyme
acts upon
 Product – substance that is created

What do enzymes do?
Enzymes speed up reactions
 They do this by breaking down substrates

Why are enzymes important?
Most biological processes (ex: digestion)
are catalyzed by enzymes
 Without enzymes, many of these
processes would not occur fast enough
for an organism to maintain balance

How do enzymes work?
Enzymes speed up reactions by lowering
activation energy
 Lock and key model
1. Substrate molecule fits into active site on
enzyme

- “Enzyme – substrate complex”
2.
Enzyme catalyzes a chemical reaction in the
substrate
- Involves breaking or forming chemical bonds
3.
4.
Products are released
Enzyme is ready to bind to another substrate
E + S -> ES -> E + P
Lock and Key Model
What is activation energy?
Activation energy – minimum energy
needed to cause a chemical reaction to
occur
 In chemical reactions, energy is either
released or absorbed
 In order to get the chemical reaction
started, it requires a certain amount of
“Activation Energy”

Graph of energy of activation
Do enzymes need a specific
environment to work?
YES
 They are sensitive to pH and temperature
 Heat and acidity will denature an enzyme

◦ Change the enzyme’s shape so it is no longer
functional
How do we name enzymes?
They are named for the reaction they
catalyze
 End with –ase
 Ex:

◦ Lipase – breaks down lipids
◦ Protease – breaks down proteins
◦ Amylase – breaks down starch or amylum
On a clean sheet of paper answer
the following questions in complete
sentences.
1.
2.
3.
Why are enzymes necessary for life?
What is the active site of an enzyme?
How do enzymes catalyze chemical
reactions?