A mutation in the gene coding for a single-polypeptide enzyme results in the substitution of the amino acid serine, which has a polar R group, by the amino acid phenylalanine, which has a non-polar R group. When researchers test the catalysis of the normal enzyme and the mutated enzyme, they find that the mutated enzyme has much lower activity than the normal enzyme does. Which of the following most likely explains how the amino acid substitution has resulted in decreased catalytic activity by the mutated enzyme?