Penicillinase, also known as β‑lactamase, is a bacterial enzyme that hydrolyzes and inactivates the antibiotic penicillin. Penicillinase follows simple Michaelis–Menten kinetics and reaches half its maximal rate of 6.8 × 10 − 10 µmol ⋅ min − 1 when the penicillin concentration is 5.2 × 10 − 6 M . What would happen to the initial reaction velocity, V 0 , of penicillinase if the penicillin concentration were 10.4 × 10 − 6 M?

Answer : The initial reaction velocity would approach

Explanation :

According to Michaelis-Menten kinetics,

where,

S = substrate concentration =

= initial reaction velocity = ?

Now put all the given values into the above formula, we get:

Therefore, the initial reaction velocity would approach

radioactive decay occurs in unstable atomic nuclei – that is, ones that don't have enough binding energy to hold

the nucleus together due to an excess of either protons or neutrons.