Final answer:
Competitive inhibitors bind to the active site and compete with the substrate, while noncompetitive inhibitors bind to a different site and cause conformational changes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Competitive and noncompetitive enzyme inhibitors differ in their mode of binding and their effects on the rate of reaction.
Competitive inhibitors bind to the active site of the enzyme, competing with the substrate for binding.
They are structurally similar to the substrate and can be reversed by increasing substrate concentration.
Noncompetitive inhibitors, on the other hand, bind to a different site on the enzyme, causing a conformational change that prevents the substrate from binding properly.
They do not compete with the substrate and cannot be reversed by increasing substrate concentration.