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Ch. 8 - Energy and Enzymes: An Introduction to Metabolism

Chapter 8, Problem 1

Which of the following correctly describe an exergonic reaction? Select True or False for each statement. T/F The products have lower Gibbs free energy than the reactants. T/F Activation energy is required for the reaction to proceed. T/F The products always have lower entropy than the reactants. T/F The reaction always occurs quickly.

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Video transcript

Hello everyone. And in today's video we have the following problem. So which of the following statements about an Ender organic reaction is correct. So let me quickly use, refresh your mind on what an end organic versus an extra organic reaction looks like. And these graphs can help you do just that. So end organic reactions involve the reactant starting at a lower energy level than the products. So these reactions are usually unfavorable because the products are found at a higher energy than the reactant, they're going to be less stable. Then we have extra Gonnet reactions as we see here here. These reactions are actually going to be more favorable because the products end up at a lower energy level than the reactant. As we see here, they're going to have less energy. They're going to be more stable now that we know this. Let's just go over answer choices so that we can solve this problem. So answer choice B states that activation energy is not required for these undergoing reactions. As we see here, these reactions all actually do require activation energy, which is what we see in the area that I just drew is this here. Since it requires activation energy, this is going to be an incorrect answer choice. Then we have the change in entropy is increased, increases in entropy usually happen in favorable or spontaneous reactions and this is going to be more for extra tonic reactions because the products are going to be at a lower energy level. So this is actually going to be an incorrect answer. Then we have the the energy of reactant is higher than that other products. This is actually going to be an incorrect statement as we see here in the graph that the reactant are actually found at a lower energy level than the products. That if the reactant were found at a higher energy level than the product, this will be an excellent reaction. So it is incorrect. This all lifts us. It requires an input of energy to initiate the reaction. Well, almost all reactions require this input of energy, both inorganic and organic. Is what we see here is that activation energy. So we're going to highlight this because it is the correct statement among all over answer choices. I really hope this video helped you and I hope to see you on the next one.