all chemical reactions and physical working of the cell
anabolism
also called biosynthesis- any process that results in synthesis of cell molecules and structures
catabolism
the break down of bonds of larger molecules into smaller molecules
biological catalyst
chemicals that increase the rate of a chemical reaction w/o becoming part of the product or being consumed in the reaction
enzymes
work by decreasing the activation energy of a reaction
without enzymes chemical reactions would be too slow for normal life processes to occur
activation energy
the amount of energy which must be overcome for a reaction to proceed
denaturation
the weak bonds that maintain the native shape of the apoenzyme are broken
competitive inhibitor
a molecule that resembles the enzyme s normal substrate, directly competing for the active site
noncompetitive inhibitor
a molecule that binds to the enzyme at a place other then the active site thus altering the shape of the active site indirectly called a regulatory molecule
exergonic reaction
a reaction that release energy as it goes fwd
endergonic reaction
a reaction that is driven fwd with the addition of energy
oxidation/reduction reactions
importanat in removing energy and tranferring to other molecules to ultimatly make an energy rich compound in organisms
aerobic respiration
series of reactions that convert glucose to co2 and allows the cell to recover signi amounts of energy requires oxygen as the final electron acceptor
fermentation
when cells use only the glycolysis scheme to incompletly oxidize glucose and organic compund is the final electron acceptor
anaerobic respiration
uses ions other then free oxygen as the final electron acceptor