I'm reviewing for a test and I'm on Le Chatelier's principle. Decreasing the temperature of an exothermic reaction shifts the equilibrium to the right?

I understood this weeks ago but now I can't remember.
Wouldn't decreasing the temperature cause there to be less collisions between reactants? Because in an exothermic reaction, reactants have more energy? (the products' collisions will be lessened too, but wouldn't it be more significant for the reactants since they have more energy?) So less collisions between reactants means the rate of the reverse reaction will Be less than the rate of the forward reaction, so the equilibrium system will shift to the left and produce more reactants to reastablish equilibrium?
I know that's wrong but that's what I think right now so I would really appreciate an explanation, I'm pretty confused.

You're making it far too complicated.

A + B ==> C + heat.
That's an exothermic reaction since heat is emitted. Since a system in equilibrium will try to undo what we do to it, if we ADD heat, the reaction will shift so as to try to use up the added heat. If it shifts to the right more heat is released. Hardly what we're looking for. If it shifts to the left heat is used. So it shifts to the left.

I can definitely help clarify your confusion about Le Chatelier's principle and how temperature affects the equilibrium of an exothermic reaction.

According to Le Chatelier's principle, if a stress is applied to a system at equilibrium, the system will shift in a way that minimizes the effect of the stress. In the case of temperature changes, let's consider an exothermic reaction as an example.

An exothermic reaction is one that releases heat or energy. In this type of reaction, the reactants have more energy compared to the products. So initially, when the reaction is at equilibrium, the forward and reverse reactions are occurring at the same rate. This means that the rate of formation of products from reactants (forward reaction) is equal to the rate of formation of reactants from products (reverse reaction).

Now, let's consider what happens when you decrease the temperature of the reaction. In this case, you're applying a stress to the system. To understand the effect, let's look at the reaction in terms of kinetics.

At lower temperatures, the average kinetic energy of the molecules is reduced. This means that the reactant molecules will collide less frequently and with less energy, making it harder for them to overcome the activation energy barrier and form products. On the other hand, the products, which already have lower energy, will also collide less frequently, but their lower energy state makes it easier for them to return to the reactant state.

Since the rate of the forward reaction is decreased more significantly than the rate of the reverse reaction due to the decrease in temperature, the system will shift to restore equilibrium. This means that more reactants will be formed to offset the decrease in the rate of the forward reaction.

In summary, decreasing the temperature of an exothermic reaction will shift the equilibrium to the right, resulting in an increase in the amount of reactants. This is consistent with Le Chatelier's principle, as the system responds to the decrease in temperature by minimizing the effect and restoring equilibrium.

I hope this explanation helps clarify your confusion! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.