A catalyst lowers the activation energy of the forward and reverse reactions by the same amount. How does this affect the equilibrium constant (K)?
Correct: C
Catalysts lower the activation energies of both forward and reverse reactions equally, altering the rate constants equally. Since K = k_forward / k_reverse, and both k_forward and k_reverse are proportionally increased, the ratio (K) remains unchanged. Equilibrium is unchanged by catalysts, only the time to reach equilibrium is reduced.