Enthalpy Profiles:

An enthalpy profile is when a plot is drawn of a reactions progress against the

enthalpy. They show the energy changes that take place during a reaction. The
highest peak on the graph shows the point in the reaction where the old bonds
are stretched and broken and new bonds have started to form. The curve on the
graph below applies to a simple one step reaction however many reactions take
place in a series of steps and drawing a single curve would be meaningless. I will
draw a enthalpy profile for the Harcourt Essen reaction however the enthalpy
profile will be different due to a greater number of steps.

The difference in endothermic and exothermic reactions can be seen in their

respective enthalpy profiles as the energy of the products is higher than the
reactants towards the end of a reaction in a endothermic reaction due to heat
being absorbed from the surrounding whereas the opposite is true for the
exothermic reactions.

When a catalyst is added to a reaction, the change in energy can also be seen in
a enthalpy profile as the catalyst provides a different pathway for the reaction so

that less energy is needed during the collision for products to be made. The
enthalpy profile of an endothermic reaction with a catalyst can be seen below.
After adding a catalyst to my reaction I will also draw an enthalpy profile to
compare to my previous one.