No amino acid molecule by itself can speed up or catalyze reactions between other molecules; however, when amino acids are joined together to make a protein with catalytic properties, the new structure (enzymatic protein) can speed up the rate of a specific chemical reaction. what does this illustrate?

Emergent properties

Explanation:

Emergent properties are those properties that appear as a result of the combination of smaller parts which themselves do not individually exhibit any of such properties.

Emergent properties are properties of a group of items, whether insects, atoms or buildings, that you would not find in any of the individual items.

The amino acids are individual molecules, when they combine to give enzymes, they display properties that individual amino acids do not exhibit separately. This a typical example if emergent properties.