Question

marissa is investigating a biochemical reaction involving carbon compounds. the reaction requires a specific enzyme. what is the role of the enzyme in this reaction?

○ to increase the activation energy of the reaction

○ to speed up the chemical reaction

○ to lengthen the carbon chain of each compound

○ to determine whether the reaction proceeds in the forward or reverse direction

○ to absorb the energy released by the reaction

approximately 32 different monomeric carbohydrate subunits are found in various natural polysaccharides. proteins are composed of 20 different amino acids. dna and rna are each synthesized from four nucleotides. which class of biological polymer has the greatest functional variety?

○ polysaccharides

○ dna

○ rna

○ proteins

Explanation:

Enzymes are biological catalysts. Catalysts speed up chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy, not increasing it. They do not determine reaction direction, lengthen carbon chains, or absorb reaction - released energy. Proteins have the greatest functional variety. Their 20 amino - acid subunits can be arranged in countless ways, forming enzymes (catalytic function), antibodies (immune function), structural proteins (like collagen), etc. Polysaccharides mainly function in energy storage (e.g., starch, glycogen) and structure (e.g., cellulose). DNA mainly stores genetic information, and RNA has roles in protein synthesis (mRNA, tRNA, rRNA) but is more limited in functional diversity compared to proteins.

Answer:

For the first question: to speed up the chemical reaction.
For the second question: Proteins.