Potential Energy Diagram. A diatomic molecule can be represented using a potential energy curve which graphs potential energy versus the distance between the two atoms called the internuclear distance. This is most easily accomplished for a one dimensional system whose potential energy can be plotted in one two dimensional graph for example u x versus x on a piece of paper or a computer program.
For this reason the activation energy of a reaction is sometimes referred to as the activation energy barrier. A potential energy diagram shows the change in potential energy of a system as reactants are converted into products. The energy changes that occur during a chemical reaction can be shown in a diagram called a potential energy diagram or sometimes called a reaction progress curve.
Often you can get a good deal of useful information about the dynamical behavior of a mechanical system just by interpreting a graph of its potential energy as a function of position called a potential energy diagram.
The reaction whose potential energy diagram is shown in the figure is a two step reaction. A potential energy diagram plots the change in potential energy that occurs during a chemical reaction. A diatomic molecule can be represented using a potential energy curve which graphs potential energy versus the distance between the two atoms called the internuclear distance. This first video takes you through all the basic parts of the pe diagram.
