What is the name for the amount of energy that is required in order to begin a chemical reaction?
conduction
function
catalytic
activation
Although the overall process involves a release of energy (the products are lower energy than the reactants), a certain initial amount of energy needs to be present before the reaction can occur. The amount of energy required to get over the "hump" in the reaction diagram is referred to as the activation energy of the reaction. At the top of the peak, the reactants form what is known as an activated complex. The activated complex is the highest energy state that must be achieved in order for reactants to convert into products.