“Substances and Materials that Regulate the Speed and Flow of Reactions or Energy

catalyst, inhibitor, enzyme, and conductor 

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1. Introduction 

• Catalyst: A substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without being consumed in the reaction. Example: Platinum in car exhaust converters.

• Inhibitor: A substance that slows down or prevents a chemical reaction. Example: preservatives in food act as inhibitors to spoilage.

• Enzyme: A biological catalyst made of protein (sometimes RNA) that speeds up biochemical reactions in living organisms. Example: Amylase in saliva helps break down starch.

• Conductor: A material (usually metal) that allows electricity (or heat) to flow easily because it has free-moving charged particles (electrons/ions). Example: Copper wire.

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2. Explanation

• Catalyst lowers the activation energy of a reaction, making it faster.

• Inhibitor works in the opposite way: it raises activation energy or blocks reaction steps, making the reaction slower.

• Enzyme is just a special type of catalyst that works in cells and is very specific to the reaction.

• Conductor doesn’t change chemical reactions, but it facilitates the transfer of energy (electrical/thermal), allowing currents to flow.

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3. Comparison

Term	Type of Action	Domain	Effect
Catalyst	Speeds up chemical reaction	Chemistry	Faster reaction
Inhibitor	Slows/stops chemical reaction	Chemistry/Biology	Slower or stopped reaction
Enzyme	Speeds up biochemical reaction (special catalyst)	Biology	Faster reaction (specific)
Conductor	Allows energy flow (not chemical)	Physics/Electricity	Electricity/heat flows easily

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4. Relationship

• Catalyst vs. Inhibitor → opposites: one accelerates, the other slows down.

• Enzyme vs. Catalyst → enzyme is a biological form of a catalyst.

• Conductor vs. Catalyst/Enzyme → both act as “facilitators”: a catalyst/enzyme facilitates chemical reactions, while a conductor facilitates energy flow.

• Inhibitor vs. Conductor → one blocks (inhibitor), the other allows flow (conductor).

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✨ In short:

• Catalyst & enzyme = helpers that speed things up.

• Inhibitor = blocker that slows things down.

• Conductor = pathway that lets energy move freely.

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