Skill 21.3 Recognizing the role of enzymes in biological systems

Skill 21.3 Recognizing the role of enzymes in biological systems 

Activation energy (no enzymes present) Activation energy (enzymes present) 

The reaction of the enzyme (E) with the substrate (S) to form product chemicals (P) can be written in the following manner  

Enzymes are necessary for biological processes such as digestion, for which the presence of certain enzymes aids in breaking food down into chemicals that can be used by the organism. Also, certain enzymes (myosins) are necessary for muscle cell contraction and. consequently, animal movement. As mentioned previously, the pathways for metabolism in cells are determined by the presence of specific enzymes. Furthermore, enzymes can serve to synthesize molecules in addition to decomposing them, as with the example of DNA synthesis. In each of these cases, enzymes are critical for proper cell functioning for such processes as growth and reproduction. 

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