Final answer:
Enzymes are proteins that consist of amino acid chains, folding into specific structures determining their function. They are highly specific, binding to substrates to catalyze reactions by lowering the activation energy, without altering the reaction's overall free energy change.
Step-by-step explanation:
Truth About Enzymes
Enzymes are indeed remarkable and vital to the biochemical processes that occur in living organisms. Enzymes are predominantly proteins made up of long chains of amino acids, which fold into specific three-dimensional shapes dictating their function. This structure is directly related to the enzyme's ability to catalyze reactions. Enzymes are highly specific; they bind to particular substrates via the active site in an induced fit model of interaction, undergoing slight conformational adjustments to achieve optimal binding and catalysis.
One of the main functions of enzymes is to lower the activation energy of chemical reactions, which accelerates the reaction rate without being consumed in the process. This lowered energy barrier makes it easier for the reaction to occur at physiological temperatures. It's critical to understand that while enzymes lower the activation energy, they do not alter the overall free energy change (ΔG) of the reaction, meaning they do not affect the equilibrium between reactants and products.