In addition to Cl ·, other halogens can potentially contribute to stratospheric ozone loss. For example, consider the reaction of Br· with ozone:

Br· (g) + O₃(g) → BrO· (g) + O₂(g)

At 298 K the rate constant for this reaction is 1.2 × 10⁸ M⁻¹ s⁻¹, about a factor of 50 reduced from the Cl · value presented in the previous problem. Experimentally, the Arrhenius pre-exponential factor was determined to be 1.0 × 10¹⁰ M⁻¹ s⁻¹.

a. Without doing any calculations, is the energy barrier for this reaction greater or less than that for Cl· ?

b. Calculate the activation energy for this reaction.