another enzyme question?

[forchina]

If there is the same number or greater number of  enzymes than substrate, will the rate of reaction increase if more enzymes are added?
My logic is that there will be a greater chance of a substrate colliding with an enzyme in a given time so more product produced in that time. There will also be a point when the solution is saturated so much with enzymes, that adding anymore will make no difference.

Also how would you tell if enzymes have been added or substrate has been added from a graph?

[Stick]

If there is the same number or greater number of  enzymes than substrate, will the rate of reaction increase if more enzymes are added?
My logic is that there will be a greater chance of a substrate colliding with an enzyme in a given time so more product produced in that time. There will also be a point when the solution is saturated so much with enzymes, that adding anymore will make no difference.

Increasing the amount of enzyme increases the amount of product produced per unit time, but the limiting factor is the amount of substrate present.

Also how would you tell if enzymes have been added or substrate has been added from a graph?

If the final amount of product produced is the same for both lines, then you can tell that the amount of substrate has been kept constant and that it is the amount of enzyme being investigated.

[forchina]

Would space also be a limiting factor?

[Stick]

I guess space would be a variable physically affecting the outcome, but I don't think we really consider it in the realms of VCE Biology.

[forchina]

So when you say that the amount of substrate is a limiting factor, does that mean that if there is less substrate than enzymes, than the rate of reaction will not increase (it will decrease)?
I would think that it would increase until a certain point (when the solution is completely saturated with enzymes) as there is a higher chance of a substrate binding to an enzyme in a shorter amount of time

[Yacoubb]

If there is the same number or greater number of  enzymes than substrate, will the rate of reaction increase if more enzymes are added?
My logic is that there will be a greater chance of a substrate colliding with an enzyme in a given time so more product produced in that time. There will also be a point when the solution is saturated so much with enzymes, that adding anymore will make no difference.

Also how would you tell if enzymes have been added or substrate has been added from a graph?

The amount of product would be the same as if you hadn't added any more enzymes. Its just that by adding more enzymes, the collisions between enzymes + substrate increases and so the process of catalysing the reaction occurs at a faster rate, giving you the same product in a shorter period of time.

[Yacoubb]

So when you say that the amount of substrate is a limiting factor, does that mean that if there is less substrate than enzymes, than the rate of reaction will not increase (it will decrease)?
I would think that it would increase until a certain point (when the solution is completely saturated with enzymes) as there is a higher chance of a substrate binding to an enzyme in a shorter amount of time

I think what he's trying to say is that the amount of substrate you have will dictate the amount of product made, no matter how much you increase enzyme concentration. Yes - the amount of product manufactured per unit time will increase as you increase enzyme concentration; however, by the end of the reaction, the amount of product will be the same as if you hadn't increased enzyme concentration.

[Stick]

^ That's exactly what I meant.