The diagram shows an enzyme that breaks down starch tested with two different substrates. An enzyme that breaks down starch has no effect when added to a pr...
Question 1 Report
The diagram shows an enzyme that breaks down starch tested with two different substrates. An enzyme that breaks down starch has no effect when added to a protein. Which property of enzymes does this show?
Answer Details
This shows enzyme specificity: each enzyme has an active site whose shape is complementary to only one type of substrate, like a key that fits only one lock. An enzyme that breaks down starch cannot act on protein because the protein molecule does not fit its active site, so no enzyme-substrate complex forms. Enzymes lower activation energy rather than raise it, and although enzymes are indeed unchanged by reactions, that property is not what this observation demonstrates. The clue is that one enzyme acts on one substance but not another.
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