What is the role of a catalyst in a chemical reaction?
It provides the necessary energy to initiate a reaction.
It increases the rate of a reaction without being used up in the process.
It changes the products of a reaction.
It decreases the rate of a reaction by inhibiting the reactants.
The correct answer is:
It increases the rate of a reaction without being used up in the process.
A catalyst is a substance that is used to increase the rate of a chemical reaction by providing an alternative reaction pathway with lower activation energy. It works by lowering the energy barrier that needs to be overcome for the reaction to occur. Importantly, a catalyst remains unchanged throughout the reaction and is not consumed or used up in the process. It does not affect the products of the reaction, only the speed at which they are formed.
The correct answer is: It increases the rate of a reaction without being used up in the process.
To understand the role of a catalyst in a chemical reaction, let's break it down further. A catalyst is a substance that promotes or speeds up a chemical reaction by providing an alternative reaction pathway with lower energy barriers. It accomplishes this by decreasing the activation energy, which is the energy required to initiate a reaction.
A catalyst does not change the reactants or the products of a reaction. It affects only the rate or speed at which the reaction occurs. Importantly, a catalyst is not consumed or used up in the reaction. Once the reaction is complete, the catalyst remains unchanged and is available to facilitate further reactions.
By providing an alternative reaction pathway with lower energy barriers, a catalyst helps reactant molecules to overcome the energy barrier more easily, enabling them to transition into the product state faster. This acceleration of the reaction rate makes it more efficient and allows the reaction to occur under milder conditions.
To summarize, a catalyst increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being used up in the process.