Chemistry 2213A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Alkane, Activation Energy, Sodium Hydroxide

• School: Western University
• Department: Chemistry
• Course: Chemistry 2213A/B
• Professor: Mark Workentin

Document Summary

Many alkenes need catalyst called initiators that make polymers from the addition of monomers. Reaction mechanism is the detailed steps of a reaction. The following are ways to describe chemical reactions: Think of a bond as a spring once its stretched its at its highest energy (transition state) and once it returns to its normal position the energy decreases. When a bond is formed the energy decreases and when its broken energy increases. Energy diagram is used to show the change in energy in a reaction. the y-axis shows the energy levels and the x-axis is the reaction coordinate (progression of the reaction) When a reaction occurs in one step the partial bonds that are formed are broken in the same step simultaneously. Heat of the reaction ( h): the difference in energy between the reactants and the products. When the products are lower in energy than reactants the reaction is exothermic (heat was released).