When enzymes bind with substrates a chemical reaction will occur that speeds up the rate of the reaction and lowers activation energy. In what way could we increase the rate of the reaction in the high substrate image?

Question

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When enzymes bind with substrates a chemical reaction will occur that speeds up the rate of the reaction and lowers activation energy. In what way could we increase the rate of the reaction in the high substrate image?

Remove enzymes

Lower temperature

Add more enzymes

Add more substrates

Answer 1

To increase the rate of the reaction in the scenario described (where you are dealing with high substrate concentration), the best approach would be to add more enzymes. When there is a high concentration of substrate, adding more enzymes can help facilitate the conversion of substrate to product, as they will provide more active sites for binding.

Other options mentioned would not effectively increase the reaction rate:

• Removing enzymes would decrease the reaction rate.
• Lowering temperature generally slows down reaction rates, as molecular motion is reduced.
• Adding more substrates may not be effective if the enzymes are already saturated; the reaction rate would plateau at that point.

Therefore, the most effective choice to increase the reaction rate in the context of high substrate concentration is to add more enzymes.