Question

Enzymes increase the speed of a chemical reaction because they?

1) lower the activation energy needed to start the reaction.
2) make the reaction spontaneous.
3) increase the temperature to provide the necessary boost of energy.
4) make the reaction more energetically favorable.

Answer 1

Enzymes speed up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy needed to start the reaction.

Step-by-step explanation:

Enzymes increase the speed of a chemical reaction by lowering the activation energy needed to start the reaction. Activation energy is the energy required to initiate a chemical reaction. The enzyme accomplishes this by binding to the reactant molecules and holding them in a way that makes bond-breaking and bond-forming processes occur more readily. Enzymes do not change the overall energy change of a reaction (ΔG), but they decrease the activation energy required to reach the transition state, making the reaction occur faster.