Activation energy with and without an enzyme

An example figure from the Potential Energy Diagram generator.

Energy diagram with no numbers on its axes: a reaction’s path without an enzyme and a lower dashed path with an enzyme, each activation energy marked — A reaction with and without an enzyme, as biology courses draw it: the shape matters, so the potential energy axis has no numbers. With the enzyme, dashed, the transition state is lower, so the activation energy is smaller, while the reactants and products stay where they are. A key names the two paths.

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Answer key

ΔH = −30 kJ/mol: exothermic
Eₐ (forward) = 100 kJ/mol
Eₐ (reverse) = 130 kJ/mol
Eₐ (with enzyme) = 40 kJ/mol forward, 70 kJ/mol reverse: both 60 kJ/mol lower than without enzyme; ΔH is the same

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