Final answer:
The turnover number of lysozyme is 30, which is calculated by dividing the number of seconds in a minute by the time it takes for one reaction to occur (60 seconds divided by 2 seconds per reaction).
Step-by-step explanation:
The turnover number of an enzyme refers to the number of substrate molecules that one molecule of enzyme can convert into a product per unit of time. In the case of lysozyme, if it requires approximately two seconds to catalyze a single reaction, the turnover number would be calculated as the number of reactions per minute. To find this, we calculate the number of seconds in a minute (which is 60) and then divide by the number of seconds per reaction (which is 2 seconds), giving us a turnover number of 30.
In comparison, some enzymes like carbonic anhydrase are exceptionally fast, with a turnover number of 36,000,000, which reflects how many more reactions they can catalyze in a given time frame compared to lysozyme. However, it is important to note that even lysozyme, with a turnover number of 30, greatly accelerates the reaction it catalyzes compared to unassisted reactions.