Reaction Profiles Flashcards

All 6 cards in this deck

What is meant by the term activation energy?

The minimum amount of energy that colliding particles must have for a reaction to occur.

On a reaction profile, how is the activation energy shown?

As the energy difference from the reactants level up to the peak of the curve.

How can you tell from a reaction profile that a reaction is endothermic?

The products are at a higher energy than the reactants.

True or false? On a reaction profile, the overall energy change is the difference between the reactants and the peak of the curve.

False. That is the activation energy; the overall energy change is the difference between the reactants and the products.

True or false? An exothermic reaction has no activation energy.

False. Every reaction has an activation energy, shown as a peak on its reaction profile.

When drawing the curve on a reaction profile for an endothermic reaction, how high must the peak be?

Higher than the energy of the products (so higher than both reactants and products).