Achieve Wks 9 and 10 #17

[Kaitlin Hong 3E]

I understand how to calculate the activation energy of the reverse reaction, but logically speaking, why is it not just the negative of the forward reaction?

[305920501]

Because activation energy is the minimum energy required for a reaction to pass over the transition state and occur in that direction, the forward and reverse activation energies are not relational by -1. I found it helpful to look at the reaction profile diagrams in the textbook to help conceptualize this. If a forward reaction is endothermic, it is going to require a lot more activation energy to pass the transition state than the exothermic reaction in the reverse direction, same with the opposite!