Final answer:
In chemical reactions, reactants are substances present at the beginning, while products are present at the end. Hydrolysis involves a substance reacting with water, resulting in the cleavage of chemical bonds. Enzymes like catalase and urease act on substrates such as hydrogen peroxide and urea, respectively, to facilitate reactions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Hydrolysis in Chemical Reactions
The concept of reactants and products is fundamental in describing a chemical reaction. For the reaction H₂ + O₂ → H₂O, the reactants are hydrogen gas (H₂) and oxygen gas (O₂), and the product is water (H₂O). When we refer to a reaction involving hydrolysis, we refer to a reaction of a substance with water. In hydrolysis, water is typically a reactant that breaks a chemical bond in another molecule, producing two or more products.
Considering a biochemical context, enzymes such as urease or catalase facilitate biochemical reactions. An enzyme's substrate is the molecule on which it acts. For instance, in the urease catalyzed reaction, urea is the substrate. Similarly, with catalase, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is the substrate, and the products of the reaction are water (H₂O) and oxygen gas (O₂).
When writing a chemical equation, the first step is to identify the reactants and the products and write their chemical formulas. The equation is then formulated by placing the reactants on the left of the arrow and the products on the right. The use of common symbols such as (s) for solid, (l) for liquid, (g) for gas, and (aq) for an aqueous solution is also important in clearly conveying the state of each substance.