Question

Write the two steps involved in the mechanism of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction.

Answer 1

Before knowing the mechanism of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction, we should know about catalysis and Enzymes. Catalysis is a phenomenon in which the rate of the reaction is changed with the help of a substance called a catalyst and Enzymes are a class of catalysts that are responsible for facilitating and increasing the rate of many vital biochemical reactions in plants and animals. The catalysis in which enzymes act as a catalyst is called enzyme catalysis.

Complete answer:
Enzymes consist of a number of cavities which are present on the outer surface. These cavities possess groups such as $- COOH$, $- SH$, etc. These centres are known as the active centre of the biochemical particle. The substrate which has the opposite charge of the enzyme fits into the cavities just as a key fits into a lock and due to the existence of the active groups, the complex formed disintegrates to form the products.
Therefore, the mechanism of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction happens in two steps:
Step 1: Binding of enzyme to substrate to form an activated complex.
$E + R \to ER$
Step 2: Decomposition/disintegration of the activated complex to form product
$ER \to E + P$

Note:
Enzyme catalysts are known to be highly efficient because a single molecule of the enzyme catalyst can transform up to a million molecules of the reactant per second. These biochemical catalysts are unique to certain types of reactions, which means that the same catalyst cannot be used in more than one reaction. The effectiveness of a catalyst is maximum at its optimum temperature. The activity of the biochemical catalysts declines at either side of the optimum temperature.