Question

For a given reaction, adding a catalyst increases the rate of the reaction by

(1) providing an alternate reaction pathway that has a higher activation energy
(2) providing an alternate reaction pathway that has a lower activation energy
(3) using the same reaction pathway and increasing the activation energy
(4) using the same reaction pathway and decreasing the activation energy

Answer 1

The answer is (2) providing an alternate reaction pathway that has a lower activation energy. The lower activation energy will lead to the increase of rate of the reaction.

Answer 2

Answer : Option 2) providing an alternate reaction pathway that has a lower activation energy

Explanation : When a catalyst is added to a chemical reaction it increases the rate of reaction by lowering the energy of activation. It provides an alternate pathway for a reaction to proceed with a lower Ea energy. Usually a catalyst never gets consumed in the reaction process. It will appear in the reaction mechanism steps but not in the overall reaction like reactants and products.