Enzymes are protein catalysts that speed up chemical reactions without being consumed. They achieve specificity by fitting substrate molecules into their active sites. Factors like temperature, pH, and substrate/enzyme concentration can affect the rate of enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Temperature and pH can cause enzymes to denature if they exceed the optimal range, altering the protein structure and disabling catalytic activity. Higher substrate concentrations allow more reactions to occur until all active sites are occupied, while more enzymes provide more active sites for substrates to bind to, both increasing reaction rate.