Question

What analogy best describes the simple relationship between an enzyme and its substrate?

A.. Substrates are dependent upon energy from enzymes the same way plants are dependent upon energy from the sun.

B.. The enzyme is like a lock, and the substrate is like a key.

C.. Substrates are like a gateway; they control what enters and exits the enzyme.

D.. Since the enzyme is a protein, it's more like a muscle on a substrate bone.

Answer 1

The correct answer is B.. The enzyme is like a lock, and the substrate is like a key.

Enzymes are bioctalyst which accelerate the bio-chemical reactions taking place inside the living organisms.

Enzymes have specific region in their structure for the binding of their substrate which is called as active site. The shape of the active site of the enzyme complements the shape of the substrate.

The shape and amino acid residues of the active site provide the specificity to the enzyme for its substrate.

It can be easily explained with the help of lock and key model in which a substrate (key) perfectly docks in the active site (key hole) of the enzyme (the lock).