How can I draw a simple energy profile for an endothermic reaction in which 50 kJ mol-1 is absorbed and which has an activation energy of 100 kJmol-1?

1 Answer
Aug 29, 2014

Here's what I get.

Explanation:

You know that the reaction is endothermic, so the energy profile will look like the image below.

1.bp.blogspot.com

Label the potential energy of the reactants (on the vertical axis) as 0 kJ/mol.

You know that the activation energy is 100 kJ/mol. Label the potential energy of the activated complex (transition state) as 100 kJ/mol.

The reaction is endothermic by 50 kJ/mol, so label the potential energy of the products as 50 kJ/mol.

And you're done.