Best answer
Changing the local environment of reactants
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What is the role of activation energy in enzyme activity?
Activation energy is needed to break down chemical bonds allowing the reaction to occur. When an enzyme binds to a substrate, it lowers the substrate molecules鈥?energy to react to form products. This increases the chance of the reaction occurring and therefore increases the rate of reaction.
How do enzymes lower the energy needed for a chemical reaction?
By manipulating the substrates of the reaction, the enzyme can lower the necessary energy needed to make the reaction occur. The enzyme itself is not a component of the chemical reaction and is the same molecule at the beginning of the reaction as it is at the end.
How do you lower the activation energy of a reaction?
Fortunately, it鈥檚 possible to lower the activation energy of a reaction, and to thereby increase reaction rate. The process of speeding up a reaction by reducing its activation energy is known as catalysis, and the factor that’s added to lower the activation energy is called a catalyst.
How do enzymes work?
Enzymes work by binding to reactant molecules and holding them in such a way that the chemical bond-breaking and bond-forming processes take place more readily. Reaction coordinate diagram showing the course of a reaction with and without a catalyst. With the catalyst, the activation energy is lower than without.