In this video, we're going to talk about some environmental factors that affect enzyme activity. Enzyme activity is defined as a measure of the amount of product that is produced by an enzyme in a certain amount of time. If an enzyme produces a lot of product within a given amount of time, then the enzyme has a lot of activity. But if the enzyme only produces a little bit of product within a given amount of time, then the enzyme only has a little bit of activity. Many environmental factors can actually affect an enzyme's activity, and we're not going to talk about all of the factors that can affect an enzyme's activity, but three of those factors we are going to discuss below. These include the temperature, as the first environmental factor. Temperature can include high temperatures, low temperatures, or just temperatures in between the two.

Another factor that could potentially affect the enzyme's activity is the pH of the solution, whether the pH is acidic, neutral, or if the pH is basic. Lastly, the third environmental factor that we're going to discuss that affects enzyme activity is the concentration of reactants. Depending on the concentration of reactants, the enzyme will have either high or low activity. It's also important to recall from our previous lesson videos that several environmental factors like high temperatures or even acidity can cause a protein to denature. Enzymes are mostly proteins, and several environmental factors can cause enzymes to denature as well. Denatured proteins or enzymes lose their shape and, when they lose their shape, they lose their function. Denatured enzymes, because they lose their shape, will consequently have decreased enzymatic activity.

The temperature needs to be just right in order for an enzyme to have optimal activity. If the temperature is too high or too low, then the enzyme will not have optimal activity. The same goes for the pH; it cannot be too low or too acidic, or too high or too basic. Otherwise, that will affect the enzyme's activity. There needs to be a very specific pH in order for the enzyme to work optimally or at its best. The same goes for the concentration of reactants. If the concentration of reactants is too low, then the enzyme will not be able to produce a lot of products. If the concentration is too high, then that could potentially oversaturate the enzyme and also lead to the enzyme not working properly.

This concludes our introduction to how environmental factors can affect enzyme activity, and we'll be able to get some practice applying these concepts as we move forward in our course. So, I'll see you all in our next video.