Question

Enzymes are protein catalysts. What is the role of a catalyst?

Answer 1

catalyst is a substance that can be added to a reaction to increase the reaction rate without getting consumed in the process. Catalysts typically speed up a reaction by reducing the activation energy or changing the reaction mechanism. Enzymes are proteins that act as catalysts in biochemical reactions.

Answer 2

Enzymes are proteins functioning as catalysts that speed up reactions by lowering the activation energy. A simple and succinct definition of an enzyme is that it is a biological catalyst that accelerates a chemical reaction without altering its equilibrium.

Catalysts make such a breaking and rebuilding happen more efficiently. They do this by lowering the activation energy for the chemical reaction. Activation energy is the amount of energy needed to allow the chemical reaction to occur. The catalyst just changes the path to the new chemical partnership.