The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution curves below show the distribution of molecular kinetic energies in a gas-phase reaction mixture under different conditions.
Which statement correctly explains how a change in conditions affects the rate of this reaction?
Increasing the temperature from T1T_1T1 to T2T_2T2 shifts the activation energy to the left, which increases the rate because more molecules have energy greater than EaE_{\text{a}}Ea.
Adding a catalyst provides an alternative pathway with a lower activation energy, EcE_{\text{c}}Ec, so a greater proportion of molecules have energy greater than or equal to the activation energy.
Increasing the pressure of the reaction mixture changes the shape of the curve from Curve 1 to Curve 2, increasing the frequency of successful collisions.
Adding a catalyst increases the most probable energy of the reactant molecules, shifting the peak of Curve 1 to the right.
