Catalysts Flashcards

All 6 cards in this deck

What is a catalyst?

A substance that changes (increases) the rate of a reaction without being used up in the reaction.

How does a catalyst increase the rate of a reaction?

It provides a different pathway for the reaction that has a lower activation energy.

How can you identify a catalyst in a reaction?

It speeds up the reaction but is not used up, and it does not appear in the chemical equation.

What name is given to the catalysts that act in biological systems?

Enzymes.

On a reaction profile, how is a catalysed reaction shown compared with the uncatalysed reaction?

A lower 'hump' (lower activation energy); the overall energy change stays the same.

True or false? Adding a catalyst increases the amount of product a reaction makes.

False. It only makes the same amount of product form faster.