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This would be an enzyme.

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11y ago
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Q: What can speed up a reaction or lower the activation energy of a reaction and can digest things?
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What do catalysts do to the activation energy of a chemical reaction?

A chemical catalyst is a substance that lowers the required activation energy of a reaction. The activation energy is the amount of energy required to "activate" or start a process, this can be in the form of many things, such as heat. A chemical catalyst can be seen as a kind of shortcut in a chemical process to speed things up. A catalyst can also be used to increase the activation energy, so that the reaction will slow down. This is useful for slowing down reactions that are normally too fast to witness.


Is the activation energy for chemical reactions in living things high or low?

Activation energy of reaction is the same regardless if it is in living organism or in test tube. Yet, the energy of activation can be lowered if catalyst is present. In living things catalyst lower the energy needed for chemical reactions.


How are enzymes and activation energy related?

The activation energy, once put in force, will be affected by the density, static, and kinectic energy of an object, but will still have a direct impact on the energy of reaction that is yielded from the initial force.


Have you ever wondered how energy participates in chemical reactions?

I wonder about a lot of things, yes.


Why do things spontaneously combust?

A substance that can spontaneously combust at room temperature has the sufficient energy required to overcome the activation energy of the reaction. Therefore the reaction continues until completion.


Why are enzymes used to perform hydrolysis in living systems?

Enzymes are needed to lower the activation energy so that the reaction can occur at temperatures at which living things can survive.


How does an enzyme influence a biological reaction?

All reactions, even exergonic, need an activation energy to happen. Enzymes provide that activation energy. Sometimes by their R groups, sometimes by stressing bonds in a molecule in their activation site and sometimes by only providing a space apart from the cytosol in their activation site for two substrates to react.


What is the definition of enzyme?

Enzymes are proteins that are able to catalyze (i.e accelerate) biochemical reactions. During the course of a reaction, the enzyme is able to convert a substrate to a product but the enzyme does not get consumed in the reaction.


Are endothermic reaction products stable?

It depends on a few things. If you mean thermodynamically stable, then no. The product of an endothermic reaction is higher in potential energy than the reactant(s) and will eventually release that energy and revert back (if it doesn't go on to some other product). If you mean kinetically stable, then maybe. It really depends on the relative energy of any intermediates formed in the conversion of reactant(s) to product(s). This relative energy is also known as activation energy. If the activation energy is high, then the product would be relatively stable. If the activation energy is low, then the product would not be stable.


When you Reduce activation energy what happens?

Reducing activation energy allows chemical reactions in the cells of living things to occur at temperatures at which the cells can survive. Reducing activation energy is carried out by enzyme catalysts. The enzyme catalysts are not used up in the reaction, and can be used in subsequent chemical reactions.


Why do living things use enzymes instead of a heat source of activation energy?

Living things use enzymes instead of a heat source of activation energy because they speed up chemical reactions as well as the metabolism in those living things.


What is a Protein that speeds up chemical reactions in living things?

Enzymes are a type of protein that catalyse chemical reactions. There are many different types. They speed up the reaction by lowering the activation energy. This is the amount of energy needed to begin the reaction. The proteins that are vital to living things because they speed up chemical reactions are called enzymes. They are catalysts that lower the activation energy of chemical reactions.