How is the energy level of the products affected by the presence of a catalyst?

1 Answer
May 22, 2017

See below.

Explanation:

A reaction needs a certain amount of energy, called the activation energy, for its reactants to form products.

When a catalyst is added, it provides an alternative pathway for the reactants to form products by lowering the activation energy.

So the products are formed with a lower activation energy.
This does not affect the energy of the products however, as seen in the diagram below for an exothermic reaction.

(energy of products < energy of reactants)

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Or an endothermic reaction
(energy of products > energy of reactants)

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hope this helped!