What is activation energy?(1 point)

A.) the energy released when atomic bonds are broken

B.) the energy that must be added to a system to break the bonds of the reactants **

C.) the kinetic energy of the reactants of a system after the reaction has begun

D.) the total potential energy of the bonds of the reactants in a system

i’m really struggling with this one because i thought that activation energy was the amount of energy needed to start a reaction, but none of these say that. I chose B because it was the most similar to what i think it should be, but a second opinion would be appreciated :D

2 answers

Hi! Im currently going over this same topic! Im doing a CA Chemistry SW

○ Activation energy - initial energy that must be added to begin a reaction
Thanks for your help! I stuck with B because that was the closest to your definition as well and it was correct :)