The following shows a graph of the energy changes taking place as a chemical reaction progress. If an enzyme is added, which arrow's magnitude will change? Will it increase or decrease?

Question

Graham Bentley

Biology

7 April, 08:54

The following shows a graph of the energy changes taking place as a chemical reaction progress. If an enzyme is added, which arrow's magnitude will change? Will it increase or decrease?

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Answers (1)

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Natalya Huff · Answer 1

The arrow representing the activation energy will decrease in magnitude.

This arrow will be beginning at the x-axis and going up to the maximum of the graph. The reason that its magnitude decreases is because enzymes provide alternate pathways to reactions; the new pathway has a lower activation energy, so the reaction occurs faster when an enzyme is added. This is why enzymes are referred to as biological catalysts and are a vital part of an organism's body