Exponent value in Arrhenius Equation

bravoghost

This may be a pretty dumb question, but how is it that as the exponent value of e decreases, the rate k increases? This seems counter-intuitive, and when I enter values for e into my calculator and compare them, the higher exponents (e.g. 50 vs. 20) give higher results.

Mike H

The Arrhenius equation is

k = A*e^-E_a/RT

where k is the rate constant, A is the pre-exponential factor, E_a is the activation energy, R is the gas constant, and T is the temperature (in Kelvin). What are you changing to get the exponential factor to change?

ETA - Also, don't forget the properties of exponents. For the real numbers a and b , where a ≠ 0, one has a^-b = 1/a^b.

Hopefully it's becoming a bit more clear with those reminders!