What does activation energy mean?
Activation energy is the barrier reactants must overcome to reach a transition state on the way to products.
Molecular process and core principles
Collisions require suitable orientation and energy. Higher temperature lets more molecules cross the barrier; this value is not the reaction's total energy change.
Evidence, applications and limits
A catalyst supplies another path with a lower effective barrier but does not change equilibrium. In multistep reactions one value may not represent every microscopic step. Comparisons can be misleading unless temperature, pressure, concentration and sample purity are stated.
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