A chemist stores an enzyme-catalyzed reaction mixture at 4 °C overnight instead of…
CHEMISTRY · Single correct · A Level · Chemistry · Kinetics · Kinetics
Problem
A chemist stores an enzyme-catalyzed reaction mixture at 4 °C overnight instead of the recommended 25 °C. Which of the following best explains why the reaction is markedly slower at the lower temperature?
(a) The equilibrium constant decreases, so the forward reaction essentially ceases.
(b) The activation energy of the reaction increases at lower temperature, making collisions less successful.
(c) Molecular kinetic energy is lower, so fewer collisions have energy greater than the activation energy.
(d) The reaction mechanism changes at low temperature, so the catalyst no longer lowers the activation energy.