Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

I am interested in testing what affects the rates of enzyme-catalyzed reactions for a science fair project. What are the practical applications for these reactions?

Enzymes are important to the human body because they facilitate important chemical reactions that allow our body to function properly. Their productivity can be influenced by factors such as temperature and pH (how acidic or basic a substance is). There are various practical applications of enzymes in medical situations, such as in the emergency room, when a reaction must occur quickly in the body for the health of the patient. Certain medicines also act as catalysts in the same sense, speeding up chemical reactions that need to occur faster in the body. Overall, enzymes are important in situations where a chemical reaction must occur within a certain time frame.

Hope this helps.

In addition to what Quark 2 said, enzyme efficiency can also be influenced by the concentration of the enzymes and the substrates as well as the presence of an inhibitor (which, as you might surmise, interfere with the actions of the enzymes). As substrate concentration increases, the rate of reaction increases as well because more collisions occur between substrates and enzymes. However, the rate of reaction eventually levels out because the enzyme becomes the limiting factor. A similar effect occurs when the concentration of the enzymes increases.