Answer to Question #61043 in General Chemistry for John

Question

I am confused. In relevence to reaction rate, on a potential energy vs progress of reaction graph, what does the potential energy acctually mean. Is it the same as the kinetic energy. I understand that as the potential energy increases you get closer to a transition state ,but how does kinetic energy fit into this for the particles. Is the potential energy equal to the kinetic energy, as in a higher temperature the particles move more, with more collisions, hence a higher potential energy.please help.