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For example, if an enzyme speeds up the rate of the forward reaction by 10 does it necessarily speed up the reverse ration by 10 as well?
Thanks for the explanation. It makes sense logically but is not very intuitive to me yet.Yep. Enzymes affect only the rate/activation energy of a reaction--not its equilibrium. You know that when an enzyme decreases a reaction's activation energy, it increases the rate of reaction. However, if it only affected the reaction in the forward direction, then it would change the equilibrium constant as there would be many more products than reactants. So by affecting both the forward and reverse reactions equally, enzymes don't affect equilibrium.
Thanks for the explanation. It makes sense logically but is not very intuitive to me yet.
http://academic.pgcc.edu/~kroberts/Lecture/Chapter 5/05-05_CatalystGraph_L.jpg
If you look at this picture, you see that the enzyme lowers the activation energy, just as ElectricNoogle was saying. So it's now faster to go from reactants to products because there's a lower hump to get over. If you look at going from products to reactants, it's still more difficult than going from reactants to products, because you're going "uphill" more. However, the hump is STILL lower than it was without the enzyme, so the reverse reaction will be sped up, as well.