Final answer:
Activated carriers are not stable without a catalyst; this statement is false. Without a catalyst, activated carriers like ATP are prone to releasing their stored energy and therefore are less stable.
Step-by-step explanation:
To answer the student's question, activated carriers are not stable in the absence of a catalyst; the statement is false. Activated carriers, like ATP in biochemical reactions, are considered to have high-energy bonds that can quickly transfer energy to other molecules. Catalysts, such as enzymes, stabilize the transition states of reactions and lower the activation energy, making biochemical processes more efficient. Without a catalyst, an activated carrier has a tendency to release stored energy spontaneously, thus it is inherently less stable.
In the context of activated carriers, comparing the relative stabilities of ATP and gasoline to air where no catalysts are present, ATP is much more reactive and less stable than gasoline in the absence of a catalyst because the high-energy phosphate bonds in ATP are more readily hydrolyzed to release energy.