Final answer:
Enzymes lower the activation energy to accelerate chemical reactions in cells, facilitating reactant interaction at the active site; they do not elevate the activation energy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer to the question of what enzymes can function in cells to do all the following EXCEPT is: a. elevate the activation energy of a reaction. Enzymes lower the activation energy of a chemical reaction inside the cell, not elevate it. They do so by binding to the reactant molecules, or substrates, and positioning them in such a way that the chemical reactions can proceed more efficiently.
Enzymes are typically proteins made up of amino acids that act as chemical catalysts. They accelerate chemical reactions by reducing the energy necessary for reactants to interact and facilitating these interactions at the enzyme's active site. This specific and induced fit enhances the rate at which reactants are converted into products.