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Chemistry  /  Chem 1692  ·  Atom · ~20 seconds

The Transition State

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State

A transition state, or activated complex, is the short-lived, high-energy species at a collision's peak, which may go on to products or fall back to reactants.

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A reaction diagram's highest point marks the transition state's energy, above both the reactant and product energies.

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A transition state is not an isolable intermediate — it exists only at the instant of peak energy.