TIP
Activation energy is the energy necessary to cause a reaction to occur.
A catalyst, as explained in the preceding section, is a substance that is
introduced into a reaction to speed up the reaction by changing the amount of
activation energy needed. The effect of a catalyst used to speed up a reaction can
be shown as follows:
TIP
A catalyst speeds up the reaction but is not consumed itself.
REACTION RATE LAW
The relationship between the rate of a reaction and the masses (expressed as
concentrations) of the reacting substances is summarized in the Law of Mass
Action. It states that the rate of a chemical reaction is proportional to the product
of the concentrations of the reactants. For a general reaction between A and B,