Final answer:
Activation energy raises the temperature of reactants, causing more frequent and forceful collisions, leading to the formation of new products.
Step-by-step explanation:
In a chemical reaction, activation energy increases the temperature of the reactants. This increase in temperature causes the particles to move faster and collide more often, and with greater force. As a result, they are more likely to overcome the activation energy barrier, allowing chemical bonds to break and the reaction to proceed. Thus, colliding particles form new chemical products, and the overall outcome of this process is the formation of new products.