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Chapter 13: Problem 64

The concentrations of enzymes in cells are usually quite small. What is the biological significance of this fact?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The concentrations of enzymes in cells are usually small due to their efficiency as catalysts. A small amount of an enzyme can catalyze a reaction repeatedly, making it unnecessary for the cells to contain large amounts. This conserves resources and energy for the cell. Additionally, it also allows for better regulation with quick adaptation to changing conditions, as enzyme production can be adjusted based on cellular needs.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the role of enzymes

Enzymes are proteins that accelerate the rate of chemical reactions in a biological environment, these reactions would be too slow to sustain life without them. They form a complex with their substrates, lowering the amount of energy needed for the reaction to take place.
02

Significance of enzymes concentration

In a typical cell, the concentrations of enzymes are indeed quite small. This is because enzymes are very efficient catalysts. A small amount of an enzyme can catalyze a reaction repeatedly. By having small concentrations, cells conserve resources and energy since producing proteins (including enzymes) requires considerable amounts of both.
03

Implications of small enzyme concentrations

Having a small concentration of enzymes also has a regulatory benefit for the cell. Enzyme production can be upregulated or downregulated based on cellular needs, allowing for efficient use of resources and quick adaptation to changing conditions. If a specific reaction needs to be accelerated, more of that particular enzyme can be produced.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

What do we mean by the mechanism of a reaction? What is an elementary step? What is the molecularity of a reaction?

The thermal decomposition of \(\mathrm{N}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{5}\) obeys firstorder kinetics. At \(45^{\circ} \mathrm{C},\) a plot of \(\ln \left[\mathrm{N}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{5}\right]\) versus \(t\) gives a slope of \(-6.18 \times 10^{-4} \mathrm{~min}^{-1} .\) What is the half-life of the reaction?

The bromination of acetone is acid-catalyzed: \(\mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{COCH}_{3}+\mathrm{Br}_{2} \frac{\mathrm{H}^{+}}{\text {cually }} \mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{COCH}_{2} \mathrm{Br}+\mathrm{H}^{+}+\mathrm{Br}^{-}\) The rate of disappearance of bromine was measured for several different concentrations of acetone, bromine, and \(\mathrm{H}^{+}\) ions at a certain temperature: $$ \begin{array}{lclll} \hline & &{\text { Rate of }} \\ & & & & \text { Disappearance } \\ & {\left[\mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{COCH}_{3}\right]} & {\left[\mathrm{Br}_{2}\right]} & {\left[\mathrm{H}^{+}\right]} & \text {of } \mathrm{Br}_{2}(M / \mathrm{s}) \\ \hline(1) & 0.30 & 0.050 & 0.050 & 5.7 \times 10^{-5} \\ (2) & 0.30 & 0.10 & 0.050 & 5.7 \times 10^{-5} \\ (3) & 0.30 & 0.050 & 0.20 & 1.2 \times 10^{-4} \\ (4) & 0.40 & 0.050 & 0.20 & 3.1 \times 10^{-4} \\ (5) & 0.40 & 0.050 & 0.050 & 7.6 \times 10^{-5} \\ \hline \end{array} $$ (a) What is the rate law for the reaction? (b) Determine the rate constant. (c) The following mechanism has been proposed for the reaction: Show that the rate law deduced from the mechanism is consistent with that shown in (a).

Sketch a potential energy versus reaction progress plot for the following reactions: $$ \begin{array}{l} \text { (a) } \mathrm{S}(s)+\mathrm{O}_{2}(g) \longrightarrow \mathrm{SO}_{2}(g) \quad \Delta H^{\circ}= \\ \quad-296 \mathrm{~kJ} / \mathrm{mol} \\ \text { (b) } \mathrm{Cl}_{2}(g) \longrightarrow \mathrm{Cl}(g)+\mathrm{Cl}(g) \Delta H^{\circ}=243 \mathrm{~kJ} / \mathrm{mol} \end{array} $$

Some reactions are described as parallel in that the reactant simultaneously forms different products with different rate constants. An example is and $$ \begin{array}{l} \mathrm{A} \stackrel{k_{1}}{k_{2}} \mathrm{~B} \\ \mathrm{~A} \stackrel{\longrightarrow}{\longrightarrow} \mathrm{C} \end{array} $$ The activation energies are \(45.3 \mathrm{~kJ} / \mathrm{mol}\) for \(k_{1}\) and \(69.8 \mathrm{~kJ} / \mathrm{mol}\) for \(k_{2}\). If the rate constants are equal at \(320 \mathrm{~K},\) at what temperature will \(k_{1} / k_{2}=2.00 ?\)
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