BIOL 1201 : BIO 1208 Final Srudy Guide 2
Document Summary
General purpose: to introduce the concept of enzyme catalyzed reactions and their role in biology. A catalyst increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed or changed during the process. Change in reaction rate is accomplished by reducing activation energy (ea) between reactants and products. Activation energy is the energy needed to activate a process or reaction. Chemical reactions that are part of life are made possible by organic catalysts known as enzymes. Normally a single enzyme will catalyze only one reaction. This specificity of an enzyme is due to the conformation of the enzyme relative to the substrate molecule. Exercise 1: the enzymatic oxidation of catechol reaction. The reaction we looked at was the conversion of catechol (found in plants) to benzoquinone. The enzyme we used was called catechol oxidase. To observe this process we will use a spectrophotometer. Law to explain the relationship between absorbance, wavelength, and concentration.
