How do enzymes affect the activation energy of a reaction?

Enzymes act as biological catalysts that facilitate chemical reactions in living organisms. They achieve this by lowering the activation energy required for a reaction to proceed. Activation energy is the minimum amount of energy needed for reactants to undergo a transformation into products. By reducing this energy barrier, enzymes allow reactions to occur more easily and at a faster rate, enabling vital biochemical processes to happen efficiently under physiological conditions.

Enzymes do this by providing an alternative reaction pathway. They can stabilize the transition state, which is the highest energy state during the reaction process. By stabilizing this state, enzymes decrease the energy difference between the reactants and the transition state, thus making it easier for the reaction to occur.

While enzymes significantly lower activation energy, they do not eliminate it entirely. There will always be some activation energy needed for a reaction to proceed; enzymes interact with substrates to facilitate the conversion into products, but they do not remove the concept of activation energy altogether. This is why the assertion that they completely eliminate activation energy is incorrect.