Two Environmental Factors Affecting Enzyme Activity

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A. Enzymes are catalytic proteins that speed up biochemical reactions. Most enzymes are composed of proteins, while in some cases they are composed of RNA molecules called ribosomes. Enzymes are highly specific. Each enzyme catalyzes only one chemical reaction.
Two environmental factors can effect enzyme activity: pH and temperature. Changes in the pH can alter the level of hydrophobicity of some regions of a protein, thus altering its shape. If the enzymes shape is altered then it will not bind with its receptor. Temperature also affects enzyme activity. All enzymes perform best at their optimal temperature. In addition, each enzyme has a minimum and maximum temperature at which it can successfully perform. Substrate concentration can chemically

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