What can you deduce about the activation energy of a reaction that takes billions of years to go to completion? How about a reaction that takes only fractions of a second?
A)The activation energy of both these reactions must be very low.
B)The activation energy of both these reactions must be very high.
C)The slow reaction must have a high activation energy while the fast reaction must have a low activation energy.
D)The slow reaction must have a low activation energy while the fast reaction must have a high activation energy.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The rate of a chemical reaction is influenced by its activation energy, which is the energy barrier that must be overcome for the reaction to proceed. A high activation energy corresponds to a slower reaction because fewer molecules have the energy needed to overcome this barrier at any given time. Conversely, a low activation energy means more molecules can surpass the energy barrier more easily, leading to a faster reaction. Therefore, a reaction that takes billions of years likely has a high activation energy, while a reaction that occurs in fractions of a second likely has a low activation energy.

What Can You Deduce About the Activation Energy of a Reaction