EnzymesAQA A-Level Chemistry: Flashcards
What these 12 flashcards ask
- What is an enzyme?
- How do enzymes speed up reactions?
- What is the active site?
- What is a substrate?
- What does stereospecific mean?
- Why can only one enantiomer bind to an active site?
- What is an enzyme inhibitor?
- How does a drug act as an enzyme inhibitor?
- How are computers used in drug design?
- Why make a drug as a single enantiomer?
- What is an enzyme–substrate complex?
- What maintains the shape of an enzyme?
Exam questions on Enzymes
- Enzymes speed up the chemical reactions in living cells. An enzyme binds a substrate molecule at its active site, and the substrate is then converted into products.Explain what is meant by the term stereospecific active site.2 marks
- A drug is being developed to treat a bacterial infection. It is designed to inhibit an enzyme that the bacterium needs to survive, and its shape is similar to that of the enzyme's substrate.Suggest why the drug needs a shape similar to that of the substrate.2 marks
- Lactic acid, CH₃CH(OH)COOH, exists as two enantiomers. An enzyme in muscle tissue acts on only one of them.Explain why the enzyme can bond to only one enantiomer of lactic acid.3 marks
Written by the Exaim team, led by Shaun Daswani (Head of Upper Secondary, Improve ME Institute; MSc Financial Mathematics, Imperial College London; BSc, UCL) and Jason Daswani (operational lead, Improve ME Institute; LSE).