Which condition did you change?
Labs / Chemistry
Energy Diagram
Every reaction has to climb an energy hill before it can roll downhill to products. Slide the enthalpy and activation energy to reshape the curve, then flip in a catalyst and watch it carve out an easier path over the same reaction.
Labs / Chemistry / Energy Diagram
Energy Diagram
Every reaction has to climb an energy hill before it can roll downhill to products. Slide the enthalpy and activation energy to reshape the curve, then flip in a catalyst and watch it carve out an easier path over the same reaction.
Why it matters
Why explore this?
Chemistry connects events too small to see with changes we can measure. This model helps you link particles, energy, and conditions to an observable result.
Explore
Try the model
ΔH -160 kJ/molEa 90 kJ/molExothermicE 180 kJ/molprogress 0%
Investigate
Questions to test
Predict first, try it in the model, then use what you observe to answer.
What to try
- When products sit lower than reactants, where does the released energy come from — and is that exothermic or endothermic?
- Turn on the catalyst. Does it change ΔH, or only the height of the barrier the marker has to cross?
- Raise the barrier while keeping ΔH fixed. Why does the marker crawl so slowly over the top?
- Can you build a reaction that gives out heat but still has a huge activation energy — like a log that won't light without a match?
- Compare the climb from reactants versus from products. Which direction faces the taller hill, and what does that say about the reverse reaction?
Explain
Make sense of what happened
Describe what happened at the particle or energy level, then connect it to the result you saw. A strong explanation names both the cause and the evidence.
Check
Before you leave
What happened to the particles or energy?
What observation supports your explanation?
If you can answer all three using evidence from the model, you understand the main idea. If not, return to Explore and change one setting at a time.