Independence of the released energies?

Hello.

Can someone explain to me how it is possible that the energy released in a chemical reaction is independent of whether it takes place with or without an enzyme?

(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

Similar Posts

Subscribe
Notify of
2 Answers
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
JenerDerBleibt
2 years ago

An enzyme is a catalyst. And a catalyst only reduces the activation energy, but does not change the reaction itself.

You see here:

The activation energy of X-> Y is the height of the “buckle” of X. :e energy that becomes free is delta H and that does not change when the activation energy is changed.

HansWurst45
2 years ago

thought experiment:

Imagine you’re packing the whole experiment in a big bag, where nix gets out but also nix gets in and no heat or other energy (light or radiation) passes through.

Thus, before and after the reaction, the same amount of matter must be in it (quantum physics and E=mc2 leave out as in this thought experiment) and before all the same amount of energy must be there. The energy can be heat, light, radiation, pressure or chemically bound energy.

So we have to

Sum of the energies of the reagents before = sum of the energies of the reagents afterwards

Enzymes do not change through the reaction. There are catalysts

Thus,

sum of the energy of the enzyme before = sum of the energy of the enzyme afterwards

If you now serve reagents to pack the enzyme and write the previously-after equation again, you realize quite quickly that because the energies that the enzyme brings nix change the energies of the reagents before and after each have to be the same no matter whether the enzyme was present or not.