Part F Which of the following statements reasonably explains why this reaction h

Question

Part F

Which of the following statements reasonably explains why this reaction has a low activation energy?

A) The small NO and F2 molecules have little steric hindrance; therefore random collisions occur more frequently.

B) The electron-deficient NO molecule is attracted to the electron-rich F2 molecule, so the driving force for the formation of the transition state is greater than simple random collisions.

C) The formal positive charge on the NO molecule is attracted to the formal negative charge on the F2 molecule, so the driving force for the formation of the transition state is greater than simple random collisions.

D) Because this reaction is only bimolecular, the frequency of random collision is very high.

Explanation / Answer

B) The electron-deficient NO molecule is attracted to the electron-rich F2 molecule, so the driving force for the formation of the transition state is greater than simple random collisions.

because the activation energy can be thought of as the height of the potential barrier (sometimes called the energy barrier) separating two minima ofpotential energy (of the reactants and products of a reaction). For a chemical reaction to proceed at a reasonable rate, there should exist an appreciable number of molecules with energy equal to or greater than the activation energy.

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