bio (1019) - MaB: enzymes

MAINTAINING A BALANCE

enzymes

today we started yr12 bio. hurray x.x

well paul is staying, and so far we still have the fouzeh, so he ranted today, lawl at pronunciations.

he started talkinga bout we as people, and growing and decreasing in size.

the whole thing revolves around organic compounds and how they are created (anabolism) or broken down (catabolism), both are types of metabolism.

mr mahfouz proved this to be successful coz last year (yr11) when we tested for glucose in plants, what we were really testing for was starch. coz sugars are stored as more complex crap (hence the growing).

as we grow up, our rate of anabolism is much higher than rate of catabolism, so we grow, and for a while we pretty much maintain the same size and mass, but as we age (after 40 or so) our body starts to deplete.

enzymes are a catalyst, each enzyme has one specific role each. enzymes are what cause anabolism or catabolism. enzymes have a sort of key&lock shape, that only certain chemicals can fit into, and from there the chemicals are either bonded together, or broken apart.

enzymes are a type of protein, they are made up of amino acids that are held together with hydrogen bonds. amino acids are organic, which means they contain H, C and O, but also contain N coz they are amino bro.

some enzymes require specific environments, eg pepsin in the stomach (acidic), or amylase in the mouth (saliva is alkaline) that's in terms of pH anyway

in terms of temperature.. in cold conditions, enzymes cannot function, but if warmed up they can. in extreme heat, the shape of enzymes are altered, and so they cannot successfully perform their role (the "keys" dont fit into the "locks"). also, the enzymes can start breaking down, and the process cannot be reversed.

tahts why, as fouzy explained, most people on the titanic died because of cold instead of drowning. also, thats how frostbite works, the body cuts off circulation in limbs in order to preserve good enzymes etc for the body. that's why we do are not meant to sleep when we are lost in some cold place, because the brain shuts things down as we sleep to rest it.

likewise, it is not good in heat, tahts why if temp is like 50*, its not safe to be outside.

we looked at a graph about temperature and effectiveness of enzymes, they work best between temperatures of 30 and 50, with 40 being the peak, and gradually going down in either direction, hitting the bottom at 30 and 50. temp was on x-axis, on y was rate of reaction.

anyway thats all for now i think.. so to just do those questions now i guess.