Labs / Biology
Enzyme Kinetics
Substrate molecules bounce around a box while enzymes catch the ones that fit, convert them to product, and let go. Add more substrate and watch the reaction rate climb — then flatten out as every enzyme gets busy. That ceiling is Vmax, and the curve tracing it is Michaelis–Menten.
v 0.0 /sVmax 0.0 /soccupied 0%Km 30
What to try
- Push substrate from Scarce to Flooded. Why does the rate stop rising even though you keep adding more substrate?
- At Flooded, what fraction of the enzymes are occupied? What is stopping the rate from going any higher?
- Double the enzyme count. Does Vmax double too — and what does that tell you about what sets the ceiling?
- Find the substrate level where the rate is about half of Vmax. How does that point compare to the Km readout?
- With only one enzyme, can you ever reach a high rate no matter how much substrate you add?