What is the minimum energy required for a reaction to occur called?

The term that describes the minimum energy required for a reaction to occur is known as activation energy (Ea). This energy barrier must be overcome for reactants to transform into products during a chemical reaction. It is essential because not all collisions between reactant molecules result in a reaction; they must possess enough energy to break bonds and form new ones.

Activation energy is a critical concept in chemical kinetics and helps in understanding how the rate of a reaction can be influenced by factors such as temperature, concentration, and the presence of catalysts. For instance, increasing the temperature provides reactant molecules with more kinetic energy, which increases the likelihood of overcoming the activation energy threshold and facilitating the reaction.

The other terms mentioned, such as potential energy, endothermic energy, and exothermic energy, do not specifically relate to the minimum energy required for a reaction to occur. Potential energy refers to the stored energy in a system, while endothermic and exothermic energies describe the heat flow associated with reactions, not the energy barrier required to initiate them.