What type of molecule is made from amino acids and acts as a biological catalyst?
Enzymes bbc bitesize ks3
How do enzymes work!
ProteinsEnzyme function
Thousands of different chemical reactions must happen inside every cell, every second in order for them to function. If these cellular reactions happen too slowly the cell may die.
If the cell is part of a multicellular organism then this might also harm the whole individual.
For example, in liver cells the toxic chemical hydrogen peroxide must be broken down into harmless products, water and oxygen.
Enzymes gcseIf this reaction happens too slowly then hydrogen peroxide can build up and poison the cell.
The rate of a chemical reaction can be increased in the laboratory by increasing the temperature. This gives more molecules sufficient energy to react with each other.
However, in the body high temperature cannot be used to speed up reactions as this would damage cell proteins and prevent them from functioning.
Living cells solve this problem by producing proteins called enzymeA protein which catalyses or speeds up a chemical reaction..
Enzymes speed up cellu