Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions. Enzymes are highly specific, controlling only specific reactions. These biological catalysts work by lowering the activation energy for a reaction. Activation energy is the energy required for a reaction to take place.
Enzymes are highly specific. A noncompetitive inhibitor binds to the enzyme at a site away from the active site called the allosteric site. This causes the shape of the enzyme to alter, preventing the substrate from binding to the active site. As a result, the reaction cannot occur, preventing the substrate from being converted into a product.
Graphs, like the Michaelis-Menten Plot and Lineweaver-Burk Plot, can tell an individual a lot about how the enzyme functions by measuring how quickly it catalyzes a reaction. These graphs plot the substrate concentration vs. the rate of reaction. The rate of reaction is determined by measuring the amount of product formed per unit of time.