2010-05-12, 04:35 AM
Swerve Wrote:I'm extraordinarily angry because I typed out full responses and then my internet decided to pull a 169. Dashing that outside here is a rushed response.
A) Enzyme A reaches full efficiency faster than Enzyme B at 5 minutes. This is indicated by the fact that the rate of product no longer increases as indicated by a flat line. At full efficiency, this is the maximum effectiveness of Enzyme A, assuming substrate A is completely saturating the enzyme. At 10 minutes both Enzyme A and B are at the same effectiveness. Past this point Enzyme B becomes more effective than Enzyme A as it is able to produce a higher yield. At 20 minutes Enzyme B reaches its maximum efficiency and is unable to increase the rate that its product is produced. Enzyme B is more effective than Enzyme A past 10 minutes, but before 10 minutes Enzyme A is more effective.
B) The protease pepsin works best as a pH of 1–2 (found in the stomach) while the protease trypsin is inactive at such a low pH but very active at a pH of 8 (found in the small intestine as the bicarbonate of the pancreatic fluid neutralizes the arriving stomach contents). Generally the stomach is a very acidic place as it is where possible harmful pathogens in food are digested in a highly acidic environment that also breaks down the food we eat. The Pancrease exists at a relatively high pH of 8.8 and sends down enzymes such as amylase to the duodenum. The answer to this should have been covered "specifically" by your teacher. I specifically was taught about pepsin and trypsin as the two answers and found it numerous times on the web.
C) Humans are obligative aerobes. We need oxygen in order to survive. With a lack of oxygen our bodies die. When our bodies die it goes through rigor mortis because of a lack of ATP. Therefore oxygen is an essential component in driving the production of ATP. If you go back to the basics you should also know that oxygen is the terminal acceptor in the Electron Transport Chain and that this involves Fe-complex and cytochromes in order to produce ATP and NADPH. Carbon dioxide is the antithesis of oxygen and indicates that there is a lax of oxygen in the body. A lack of oxygen and a prevalence of CO2 would result in a lack of ATP to phosphorylate enzymes to provide energy in order to drive the reaction. Enzymes that don't receive energy may begin to denature and their binding site could miss conform resulting in an inability to recognize the substrate. When the enzyme is unable to recognize the substrate it is unable to produce a product resulting in no enzyme activity for that enzyme. Gradually the prevalence of CO2 could result in diminishing returns for the enzyme until it cannot produce anymore product.
GJ Swerve, you gave me my headache for the night. I havnt had to think about Enzymes and Co-Enzymes and Growth Radii and stuff for almost 6 months ><