Two generic single-step reactions, Reaction I and Reaction II, are represented qualitatively by the following descriptions of their energy profiles.
Reaction I: The transition state lies much closer in energy to the products than to the reactants, and the products are lower in energy than the reactants.
Reaction II: The transition state lies much closer in energy to the reactants than to the products, and the products are higher in energy than the reactants.
No numerical values are provided.
(a) For each reaction, describe the relative magnitudes of the forward and reverse activation energies.
(b) For each reaction, state whether the forward process is exothermic or endothermic and justify your answer in terms of the positions of reactants, transition state, and products along the potential-energy axis.
(c) Explain how the qualitative placement of the transition state affects the rate of the reverse reaction relative to the forward reaction for both Reaction I and Reaction II.