Question

At temperature just below the freezing point, the enzyme is
A. Slightly activated
B. Destroyed
C. Inactivated
D. Unaffected

Answer 1

Hint: Enzymes are well known as catalysts. They are the proteins that act as biological catalysts, the main aim of a catalyst is to enhance the speed of reaction. In short they are used to accelerate the reaction. Enzymes usually don't perform any function in the extremes range of temperature.

Complete answer:
Enzymes act on the molecules which are called as substrates, they convert substrates into different molecules which in result gives the product. Now what happens when enzymes are kept in cold temperature the movement of molecules and enzymes gets slower and slower causing molecules enzymes collisions activity at very slow pace and once the temperature reaches at freezing point the enzymes collisions activity becomes zero, hence enzymes become inactive at very narrow ranges of temperatures.
So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Additional Information:
As we read above enzymes increase the rate of reaction by lowering the activation energy. Sometimes enzyme activity of conversion molecules into substrates is way million times faster. But as enzymes act as other catalysts they also have some different qualities of affected by other molecules, enzymes main function is to increase the rate of reaction but some molecules like inhibitors are the molecules that decreases the enzyme activity on other hand activators are the molecules that increase the enzyme activity even more.

Note: Inhibitors are the molecules that bind to the active sites of the enzymes and decrease its activity, whereas activators are the molecules which too bind with the enzymes, but they increase the enzymes activity. To demonstrate the enzyme molecule collision a well-known scientist ‘Emil Fischer’ proposed a model of “lock and key” model, it was able to make understand their collision or binding property but fails to explain stabilization of transition state that enzymes achieves during its activity.