The key difference between kinetic energy and activation energy is that kinetic energy is the type of energy an object has when it moves, whereas the activation energy is the energy barrier that has to be overcome in order to obtain products from the reaction.
Energy is the capacity to perform work in a physical system. “Work” refers to the action of moving something against a force. According to the law of conservation of energy, energy cannot be either created or destroyed; it can be converted from one form into a different form. Kinetic energy and activation energy are two types of energy we can find in thermodynamically different systems.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Kinetic Energy
3. What is Activation Energy
4. Side by Side Comparison – Kinetic Energy vs Activation Energy in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Kinetic Energy?
Kinetic energy is a type of energy an object has when it is in motion. The abbreviation of this term is KE or Ev. The key idea behind the term kinetic energy is that is the work required to accelerate the object from the state of rest to the state of given velocity. When the object is not in movement, it has potential energy, which turns into kinetic energy during the acceleration. For rigid objects, the kinetic energy of the system can be given from the following equation:
Ev = ½.mv2
The above relationship is given in classical mechanics for a non-rotating object having a mass “m” and velocity is “v”. But in realistic mechanics, we can use this relationship only if the value of “v” is much less than the speed of light.
What is Activation Energy?
Activation energy of a chemical reaction is the energy barrier that has to be overcome in order to obtain products from the reaction. In other words, it is the minimum energy required for a reactant to convert into a product. It is always neccessary to provide activation energy in order to start a chemical reaction.
We denote activation energy as Ea or AE; we measure it by the unit kJ/mol. Moreover, activation energy is considered as the minimum energy required to form the intermediate with the highest potential energy in a chemical reaction. Some chemical reactions have a slow progression and take place via two or more steps. Here, intermediates are formed and then rearranged to form the final product. Thus, the energy required to start that reaction is the energy required to form the intermediate with the highest potential energy.
Furthermore, catalysts can reduce the activation energy. Therefore, catalysts are often used in order to overcome the energy barrier and let the chemical reaction progress. Enzymes are biological catalysts which can decrease the activation energy of reaction take place in tissues.
What is the Difference Between Kinetic Energy and Activation Energy?
Energy is the capacity to perform work in a physical system. Kinetic energy and activation energy are two types of energy. The key difference between kinetic energy and activation energy is that kinetic energy is the type of energy an object has when it moves, whereas activation energy is the energy barrier that has to be overcome to obtain products from the reaction. We can denote kinetic energy as KE or Ev and activation energy as AE or Ea.
Below infographic summarizes the difference between kinetic energy and activation energy.
Summary – Kinetic Energy vs Activation Energy
Energy is the capacity to perform work in a physical system. Kinetic energy and activation energy are two types of energy. The key difference between kinetic energy and activation energy is that kinetic energy is the type of energy an object has when it moves whereas activation energy is the energy barrier that has to be overcome in order to obtain products from the reaction.