Chemistry L28

• Activation energy


  the minimum energy required to transform the reactants into an activated complex
• Activated complex


  the transitional structure that results from an effective collision and persists while old bonds are breaking and new bonds are forming
• Collision theory


  the set of assumptions regarding collisions and reactions
• Catalyst


  a substance that changes the rate of a chemical reaction without being permanently consumed
• Reaction mechanism


  step-by-step sequence of reactions by which the overall reaction takes place