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Maintaining a balance

1. Most organisms are active in a limited temperature range

identify the role of enzymes in metabolism, describe their chemical composition and use a simple model to describe their specificity on substrates. Enzymes are biological catalysts. They lower the energy required to start up a chemical reaction within a cell but do not get used up by the reaction. Every reaction and process within a cell is controlled by a specific enzyme. Enzymes are globular proteins thats its shape is specialized so that other chemicals (substrate) would be able to bond with them. Enzymes have two models to show how they work: One is the lock-key module. This is where one part of the enzyme forms a complex with the substrate. This part of the molecule is called the active site. Only specific substrates would be able to bond.

The second module is the induced fit module. This is where the active site changes its change so that the substrate could fit the enzyme perfectly.

identify the pH as a way of describing the acidity of a substance A pH scale is related to the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. A pH value of 0 - 6 indicates an acid solution, where 0 is more acidic than 6, e.g. lemon juice has a pH value of 2, hydrochloric acid has a pH value of 1. A pH value of 7 indicates a neutral solution, e.g. water. A pH of 8 - 14 indicates a basic solution, where 14 is far more basic than 8, e.g. sodium hydroxide (drain cleaner) has a pH of 14, sodium bicarbonate has a pH of 8. At times when enzymes are not in their right pH level they would use coenzymes in order to function properly. explain why the maintenance of a constant internal environment is important for optimal metabolic efficiency All the metabolic reactions that occur inside the body is controlled by enzymes. Enzymes work in an environment where their optimal temperature and pH condition are suited. If the temperature or pH is other than the optimum then the enzyme will fail to work effectively or even not at all. describe homeostasis as the process by which organisms maintain a relatively stable internal environment Homeostasis is the process by which the internal environment is kept within normal limits regardless, of the external environmental conditions. This includes conditions, such as temperature, pH, gas levels, water and salt concentrations. This allows the enzyme's optimal conditions to be met and the body to work efficiently and kept as stable as possible.

explain that homeostasis consists of two stages:


detecting changes from the stable state counteracting changes from the stable state

In order for the homeostasis to exist the body needs to somehow detect the stimuli that indicated a change in the bodys internal and external environment. A receptor detects a change in some variable in the

organism's internal environment, for example, sensory neurons in the skin pick up a decrease or increase in temperature of air surrounding the body. An appropriate response occurs that counteracts the changes and thus maintains the stable environment, for example, shivering to generate heat in muscles.
outline the role of the nervous system in detecting and responding to environmental changes The nervous system consists of the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord and the PNS consists of the sensory nerves and the effector nerves. When the environmental temperature begins to exceed a comfortable level for the body, temperature sensors in the skin detect the temperature change and a sensory neuron conducts a nervous impulse to the hypothalamus found in the brain. Nerve impulses pass this information from the receptors to effector neurons then onto effectors, such as blood vessels, sweat glands, endocrine glands and muscles.

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