Biology 2010 Student Edition

Published by Prentice Hall
ISBN 10: 9780133669510
ISBN 13: 978-0-13366-951-0

Chapter 2, The Chemistry of Life - Assessment - 2.4 Chemical Reactions and Enzymes - Understand Key Concepts/Think Critically - Page 57: 28

Answer

An enzyme is a catalyst in the biological sense.

Work Step by Step

As a biological catalyst, an enzyme lowers the activation energy of a reaction so that the reaction happens at a faster rate. Enzymes work very specifically, with a single enzyme normally catalyzing a single reaction. For example, carbonic anhydrase is an enzyme that greatly speeds up the reaction between carbon dioxide and water to form carbonic acid.
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