Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution Flashcards
1
Q
What does the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution represent?
A
A plot of the number of particles having each particular energy
2
Q
What does the area under the curve represent?
A
A measure of the total number of particles present
3
Q
What should the graph always show?
A
Activation energy for the reaction
4
Q
What does the shaded area on the graph represent?
A
The number of molecules with sufficient energy to react, i.e. they have energy greater than or equal to the activation energy
5
Q
How can we enable the particles to react when they collide if they do not have enough energy?
A
Either have to change the shape of the curve, or move the activation energy further to the left
