Describe how the concept of activation energy impacts the living organisms, and why enzymes are critical in this process.

Enzymes lower the activation energy in metabolic processes in living organisms. They act as catalysts for reactions in living organisms.

Enzymes have specific structural properties in their active sites which binds to the specific complimentary substrates to induce close proximity effects of the substrates. Temporary and close binding increases the chances of the 2 substrates reacting with each other, as compared to relying on coincidental bumping of reactants in the absence of enzymes.

Enzymes have a straining effect on substrates which should be broken down. The slight straining effect of the enzyme on the substrate, due to slight distortions in the enzyme's active side structure, will strain specific bonds in the substrate to induce substrate breakage.

Enzymes are able to oriented substrates / substrate to a specific orientation within the active site of enzymes, so that the correct bonds will be exposed to the chemical reaction.

Enzymes have a specific and appropriate microenvironments in their active sites for specific reactions to occur. For e.g., hydrophobic amino acid residues in the active sites creates an adequate environment for non-polar substrates to react together.

All in all, enzymes work to quicken processes in the body for e.g. to react to changes in the environment.

Hope this helps! :)

Environmental science studies the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment, including their effects on all types of organisms. earth science (also known as geoscience), is an inclusive term for all sciences related to earth (geology, meteorology, oceanogr maphy, etc).  although environmental and earth science cover essentially the same material, environmental science places greater emphasis on the biological realm, while earth science places greater emphasis on the physical realm.    environmental and earth science study the interactions of four major systems or “spheres” (figure 8.6).  the  geosphere  consists of the core, mantle and crust of the earth.the  atmosphere  contains all of the earth’s air and is divided into troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere.the  hydrosphere  contains all of the solid, liquid and gaseous water on earth, extending from the depths of the sea to the upper reaches of the troposphere where water is found.  ninety-seven percent of the hydrosphere is found in salty oceans, and the remainder is found as vapor or droplets in the atmosphere and as liquid in ground water, lakes, rivers, glaciers and snowfields.  the  biosphere  is the collection of all earth’s life forms, distributed in major life zones known as biomes:   tundra, boreal forest, temperate deciduous forest, temperate grassland, desert, savannah, tropical rainforest, chaparral, freshwater, and marine.although the four systems have their unique identities, there is substantial interaction between them.  environmental scientists study the effects of events in one sphere on the other spheres. for example, a volcanic eruption in the geosphere may cause profound direct and indirect effects on the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere as follows: example 1 (volcano)    on may 18, 1980, mount saint helens, in the state of washington, erupted.  this event altered the surrounding environment, and provided scientists with an opportunity to study the effects of volcanic eruptions on the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.  such studies are vital because volcanic eruptions will continue to occur, and will have increasing impact on humans as people continue to settle lands closer to dormant volcanoes. the following are but a few of the myriad of interactions resulting from a volcanic