NLN NEX Chemistry Practice Test

A catalyst speeds up a reaction by providing an alternative pathway with a lower activation energy. Activation energy is the energy barrier that reactants must overcome to reach the transition state and form products. By offering a gentler route, more particles have enough energy to react at a given temperature, so the rate increases without changing the overall energy of the system. The catalyst is not consumed, and the final products remain the same for the same overall reaction, so it doesn’t alter what is produced. That’s why lowering the activation energy is the correct statement.