CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY

Chapter 4 Question 30 asks, the activation energy in an organic reaction if known to be 125 kj/mol. Will this reaction occur at room temperature. The answer is no but why?

125 kJ/mol is a considered a high activation energy. Based on the Arrhenius equation, the rate will be very slow if the activation energy is high due to the large energy barrier it must overcome. If the activation energy is high, then the temperature must be high in order for the rate to be fast. Room temperature isn't a very high temperature, so the reaction will not occur at room temperature.