1 What effect if any would you expect a catalyst to have on

1.      What effect (if any) would you expect a catalyst to have on the:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = \"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office\" />

a.      Rate constant? Explain.

b.      Activation energy? Explain.

Solution

More appropriate for part a) a catalyst cannot affect equilibrium because although a catalyst can speed up a chemical reaction, it cannot change the thermodynamics of it, and equilibrium is determined solely by thermodynamics. A catalyst may help a system reach equilibrium more quickly, but it will not change it. One possible way a catalyst could affect equilibrium is by introducing a catalyst that affects a different reaction involving the substrate or products of the original reaction, but this would be cheating since the system would no longer be closed.

Pls rate me with 5 stars, as I have explained how catalyst affect the activation energy and rate constant too