The activation energy of a reaction going on its own is 20 kJ. If the reaction was treated with a catalyst, which would most likely represent the amount of energy needed to start a reaction?

Question

15 kJ
20 kJ
25 kJ
30 kJThe activation energy of a reaction going on its own is 20 kJ. If the reaction was treated with a catalyst, which would most likely represent the amount of energy needed to start a reaction?

15 kJ
20 kJ
25 kJ
30 kJ

Answer 1

A catalyst lowers the activation energy of a reaction. If the original activation energy is 20 kJ, when a catalyst is used, the required energy to start the reaction would be less than 20 kJ.

Among the options provided:

• 15 kJ is less than 20 kJ.
• 20 kJ is the same as the original activation energy (no catalyst).
• 25 kJ and 30 kJ are both higher than 20 kJ.

Thus, the most likely amount of energy needed to start the reaction with the catalyst would be 15 kJ.