Final answer:
Enzymes are biological catalysts that are highly specific, accelerate chemical reactions by lowering activation energy, and are not consumed in the reactions they facilitate. Their specificity is due to the unique structure of their active sites, which is determined by the arrangement of amino acids.
Step-by-step explanation:
Enzymes differ from ordinary chemical catalysts in that their reactions are highly specific. They are remarkable biological catalysts that accelerate chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy required for reactions to proceed. Enzymes achieve this through their unique active site that binds to specific substrates in a lock and key or induced fit manner, making them much more efficient than inorganic catalysts.
One of the key characteristics of enzymes is that they are not consumed by the reactions they catalyze, meaning they can be reused repeatedly. Additionally, the specificity of enzymes is due to the precise three-dimensional structure of their active sites, which is determined by the sequence and arrangement of amino acids in the enzyme. This specificity ensures that enzymes generally catalyze only one or a few types of reactions, in contrast to inorganic catalysts that have less specificity.
Enzymes are typically protein molecules made up of one or more polypeptide chains. Their selectivity and ability to be regulated through various mechanisms such as allosteric regulation sets them apart from non-biological catalysts, reflecting their role in the finely tuned processes of living organisms.