Activation Barrier

An activation barrier is the energy threshold that must be overcome for a chemical reaction to occur. Think of it like a hill that a car must drive over to reach the other side. If the car doesn’t have enough momentum, it can’t get over the hill. Similarly, in a chemical reaction, reactants need enough energy to break bonds and form new ones. The activation barrier determines how fast or slow a reaction happens; lower barriers make reactions happen more easily and quickly, while higher barriers slow them down.