Answer
Catalysts are chemical substances that reduce the activation energy required to start a chemical reaction. They also speed up the rates of reactions , but they are not used up or consumed in reactions. Because of the action of catalysts, some vital physiological reactions which would not begin by themselves or would proceed too slowly to sustain life are made possible, and boosted to life sustaining speeds by catalysts like enzymes.
Work Step by Step
Catalysts lower the activation energy necessary to break the chemical bonds of reactants and thus facilitate the initiation of reactions. Catalysts also speed up the rates of reactions. Another effect of catalysts is to cause the equilibrium position of a reaction to be reached more quickly, however, they do not change equilibrium positions .
