How do enzymes speed up biochemical reactions?
Biology · Middle School · Thu Feb 04 2021
Answered on
Enzymes accelerate chemical reactions, they are biological catalysts. They do so by reducing the amount of activation energy required for a reaction to occur. The rate of reaction is faster when the activation energy of a reaction is lower. This process of accelerating a reaction by decreasing its activation energy is called catalysis.
Enzymes have the potential to affect the rate of reaction in both reverse and forward directions. In short, catalysts (a substance added to reduce the activation energy) lower the activation energy of reactions hence speeding up the process.