To understand what y represents in the graph, we need to think about what graphs in chemistry, specifically regarding energy changes in reactions, generally show.
Chemical reaction energy diagrams often depict a reaction's energy change as a curve from the reactants to the products, showing different energy levels throughout the process. The energy required to start a reaction or to transform the reactants into an activated complex (also known as the transition state) is crucial.
The height of this energy barrier is called the activation energy. This is the minimum amount of energy required to start a chemical reaction. The activation energy is represented by the peak in the energy graph between the reactant energy level and the top of the curve.
Therefore, in this context, y represents the activation energy needed for the reaction to proceed. Understanding activation energy is vital as it determines how quickly a reaction will occur. Reactions with a high activation energy tend to happen more slowly because it is less probable that the necessary energy for the reaction to occur spontaneously will be present.
