How does enzymes act as a catalyst

Why are enzymes specific? What enzymes are used in DNA replication? How do enzymes help digestion? How do enzymes differ from hormones?

How are enzymes specific to substrates? What are enzyme substrates? What are activation energies? What are some examples of enzymes? Enzymes are proteins that have a specific function. They speed up the rate of chemical reactions in a cell or outside a cell. Enzymes act as catalysts; they do not get consumed in the chemical reactions that they accelerate. Why do cells need a catalyst? Cells use a lot of energy!

There are thousands of reactions that take place in cells and these require energy. Since energy is always limiting in a living cell, cells have adopted enzymes as a way to conserve energy.

Insufficient energy is a barrier to initiating the reaction. Only when there is a sufficient amount of energy, can the reactant overcome the energy barrier and proceed to form a product. This is called the activation energy.

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