Activation energy is the minimum amount of energy required for a chemical reaction to occur. It is the energy that must be overcome in order for the reactants to form products.
Activation energy can be determined by measuring the rate of a chemical reaction at different temperatures and using the Arrhenius equation to calculate the activation energy. This equation relates the rate constant of a reaction to the temperature and activation energy.
Determining activation energy is important because it provides insight into the mechanism of a chemical reaction. It also allows scientists to predict how changes in temperature will affect the rate of a reaction.
The accuracy of determining activation energy can be affected by experimental errors, such as variations in temperature measurements or incorrect data collection. The complexity of the reaction and the presence of other reactants or catalysts can also impact the accuracy of the results.
No, activation energy cannot be negative. It is always a positive value as it represents the minimum amount of energy required for a reaction to occur. A negative value would imply that the reaction could occur without any energy input, which is not possible.