What is the effect of temperature on enzyme activity?

As temperature increases, the enzyme activity increases since the particles have more kinetic energy and collide more frequently; with a greater proportion of the collisions being successful and more enzyme-substrate complexes forming. This is the case until the optimum temperature of the enzyme is reached, where activity is at its highest.Beyond the optimum, the high temperatures cause some of the hydrogen and ionic bonds in the enzyme's tertiary structure to break, leading to a change in the shape of the active site of the enzyme. This means that the substrate is no longer complementary and cannot bind to the active site to form an enzyme- substrate complex, so the enzyme is said to be denatured.

YT
Answered by Yasmin T. Biology tutor

3149 Views

See similar Biology A Level tutors

Related Biology A Level answers

All answers ▸

Explain why the activity of amylase rapidly decreases above pH 7.


Explain how mRNA is formed. (6 marks)


What is phagocytosis and what steps are involved?


Describe the process of natural selection


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning