Question

What is the difference between Activation Energy and Threshold Energy ?

Answer 1

Activation energy is the amount of energy that must be supplied to the molecules so that an effective collision could take place.

Threshold energy – It is the energy which must be possessed by the molecules in order to make the collisions effective.

Therefore, Threshold energy = Activation energy + Average internal energy

At normal conditions, the molecules donot possess the threshold energy needed for effective coliision.Therefore, activation energy must be provided to the molecules so that they can acquire threshold energy and the collision could be effective.