Competitive inhibition

Competitive inhibition is when two things are fighting for the same spot. It's like if you and your sibling both want to sit in the same chair, but there's only one seat. In this case, the thing fighting for the spot is called an inhibitor and it's trying to stop something else, called an enzyme, from doing its job.

Let's imagine a game of catch. The enzyme is like your friend who wants to catch the ball. But then an inhibitor comes along, like your other friend who also wants to catch the ball. If your second friend gets in the way, your first friend won't be able to catch the ball.

In real life, this happens in your body with chemicals. Enzymes help make chemical reactions happen, but when an inhibitor gets in the way, the reaction doesn't work as well or might not happen at all. This can sometimes be a good thing if you want to slow down a chemical reaction, but it can also be bad if the reaction is important for your body to function properly.

Let's take an example. Imagine you are making a cake and you need to add sugar. But then, someone comes along and adds salt instead. Salt is an inhibitor here and it stops the sugar from doing its job. The cake might not taste as good, or it might not even form properly.

Overall, competitive inhibition is when something creates a block for another process to happen, similar to wanting to sit in the same chair or trying to catch the same ball.