Discuss three factors that affect enzyme activity.

1.Temperature.
As the temperature rises, reacting molecules have more and more kinetic energy. This increases the chances of a successful collision and so the rate increases. There is a certain temperature at which an enzyme's catalytic activity is at its greatest. This optimal temperature is usually around human body temperature (37.5 oC) for the enzymes in human cells.
Above this temperature the enzyme structure begins to break down (denature) since at higher temperatures intra-and intermolecular bonds are broken as the enzyme molecules gain even more kinetic energy.

2.PH.
Each enzyme works within quite a small pH range. There is a pH at which its activity is greatest (the optimal pH). This is because changes in pH can make and break intra- and intermolecular bonds, changing the shape of the enzyme and, therefore, its effectiveness.

3.Substrate and enzyme concentration.
The rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction depends on the concentrations of enzyme and substrate. As the concentration of either is increased the rate of reaction increases.
For a given enzyme concentration, the rate of reaction increases with increasing substrate concentration up to a point, above which any further increase in substrate concentration produces no significant change in reaction rate. This is because the active sites of the enzyme molecules at any given moment are virtually saturated with substrate. The enzyme/substrate complex has to dissociate before the active sites are free to accommodate more substrate.
Provided that the substrate concentration is high and that temperature and pH are kept constant, the rate of reaction is proportional to the enzyme concentration.

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Belan answered the question on March 10, 2019 at 09:30