Why is PH important to living cells?

Question

Why is PH important to living cells?

Answer 1

One aspect of life involves enzymes.  The bio-chemical reactions of life are too slow to sustain life.  However, enzymes speed up those chemical reactions and the main function of a cell is to produce the enzymes (made of protein) to help speed up those reactions.

The enzymes are very sensitive to pH (stands for parts Hydrogen) and once the pH gets too low or too high, the enzymes function slows down.  If the pH gets too high or too low, the enzymes do not work and life stops due to the upset in the pH aspect of homeostasis.  

Therefore, cells also make chemicals to help maintain the narrow range of pH in which enzymes will work.  

Answer 2

pH is very important to living cells. That is because most living cells only survive in a very very specific range of pH. The smallest variation out of that range could cause the cell to die. That is mostly because proteins created by the cell become become denatured (dissociate, fall apart) when manufactured out of their pH range.  Also extreme changes in pH can cause DNA to become denatured.