Question

When comparing the activation energy between different exothermic reactions, as the activation energy decreases at a given temperature, the reaction rate increases because the _______?

Answer 1

number of successful effective collisions is higher

Answer 2

The rate increases because there will be more molecules and atoms that contain the required amount of energy to surpass the activation threshold. As this ratio increases, the speed of the reaction will increase to match. As this ratio increases, the rate of collisions between molecules will increase as well, which will continue to speed the process.