The energy required to initiate a chemical reaction is called?

The energy required to initiate a chemical reaction is referred to as activation energy. This energy barrier must be overcome for reactants to transform into products during a chemical reaction. Activation energy is crucial because it determines the rate of the reaction; higher activation energy means a slower reaction, while lower activation energy allows the reaction to proceed more quickly.

In this context, activation energy represents the minimum energy necessary for molecular collisions to result in chemical transformation. It is a fundamental concept in understanding reaction kinetics and the dynamics of how and why certain reactions occur more readily than others.

The other terms refer to different forms of energy. Thermal energy pertains to the internal energy of substances due to the motion of their particles, kinetic energy relates to the energy of moving objects, and potential energy refers to stored energy based on an object's position or configuration. None of these accurately describes the specific energy requirement for starting a chemical reaction, which is why activation energy is the correct term in this scenario.