Question detail
What is activation energy?
Try the question, check the answer, then read the explanation to understand the curriculum point.
At a glance
MCQ
Type
practice
Style
Topic
Rate of reaction
Question
- A. The energy required to break bonds in reactants.
- B. The minimum energy needed for particles to react.
- C. The energy released duringa reaction.
- D. The energy needed to form products.
Answer
The minimum energy needed for particles to react.
Explanation
The correct answer is The minimum energy needed for particles to react.. This answer directly addresses the question: What is activation energy? It matches the approved Chemistry 8462 learning objective and the linked subtopic. The other options are incorrect because they either change the rate, catalyst, reversible reaction, equilibrium, or graph context, or they do not answer the exact point being tested.
Common mistake
Misattributing increased rate to more collisions only
Students often think that a higher concentration or temperature always speeds up a reaction simply because there are more collisions, ignoring that the collisions must also have sufficient energy.
Explain that collision theory requires both a higher collision frequency *and* a higher proportion of collisions with energy ≥ activation energy; students should describe how temperature raises particle speeds, increasing both frequency and the fraction of energetic collisions, and how concentration or pressure increases frequency but not necessarily energy per collision.
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