Potential energy diagram of an exothermic reaction

An example figure from the Potential Energy Diagram generator.

Potential energy diagram of an exothermic reaction: reactants at 50 kJ/mol, a transition state at 150 kJ/mol and products at 20 kJ/mol, with arrows labeled Ea = 100 kJ/mol and ΔH = −30 kJ/mol — The potential energy of an exothermic reaction against the reaction coordinate. The curve runs flat at the reactants, 50 kJ/mol, rises to the transition state at 150 kJ/mol and falls to the products at 20 kJ/mol. The activation energy arrow runs up from the reactants to the peak and the ΔH arrow down from the reactants to the products, each labeled with its value, and a dashed line carries the reactants’ energy across to both.

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Answer key

ΔH = −30 kJ/mol: exothermic
Eₐ (forward) = 100 kJ/mol
Eₐ (reverse) = 130 kJ/mol

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