<p>This is from Kalpan’s practice test.
A catalyst:
a) changes (delta) G for an equation
b) acts by increasing the rate of the forward reaction
c) raises the equilibrium constant of a system
d) may have a molecular weight as low as 1 or higher than 200,000
e) does not react chemically during the course of a reaction</p>
<p>The answer is d but I chose e… I know there’s nothing wrong with d, but I couldn’t think of anything wrong with e either Doesn’t catalyst just decrease the activation (or acticate?) energy & “stay out of” the reation?</p>
<p>No, a catalyst does react. It’s just that the series of reactions that occurs has it come back out in the end. Basically, stuff bonds to the catalyst and the catalyst orients the reactant in such a way that there is a better chance of collisions, thus reducing the activation energy. When the collision occurs, the reactant separates from the catalyst.</p>
<p>That’s such a dumb question though. D is such a dumb answer that I’d seriously think twice about putting it. B is techincally correct too, but that kind of implies it doesn’t speed up the reverse reaction too (which it does).</p>
<p>Huh?
So is B supposed to be the right answer? Doesn’t a catalyst increase the rate of the forward and reverse reactions; it doesn’t favor one over the other.</p>
<p>they said D is the right answer. B is also correct, but it doesn’t account for the reverse reaction (even though it shouldn’t need to…a question like this would never appear on the real test, it’s much too subjective)</p>
Doesn’t catalyst just decrease the activation (or acticate?) energy & “stay out of” the reation?</p>