Final answer:
Oxidizing agents are substances that accept electrons during a chemical reaction, causing oxidation. Catalysts increase the rate of a reaction without being consumed. Examples include hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent and cytochrome oxidases as catalysts.
Step-by-step explanation:
Oxidizing Agents and Catalysts
Oxidizing agents are substances that cause oxidation by accepting electrons during a chemical reaction. In contrast, catalysts are substances that increase the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process. Oxidizing agents are part of the reactants in a redox equation and can be identified because they gain electrons and are reduced. An example of a commonly used oxidizing agent is hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
Catalysts, on the other hand, do not directly participate in the oxidation or reduction process but facilitate it. Examples include enzymes like oxidases, which catalyze the removal of hydrogen from the substrate and add it directly to the molecular oxygen, and common ones are cytochrome oxidases and uricase.
Both oxidizing and reducing agents play a crucial role in redox reactions, which are integral to many biological processes, such as photosynthesis, where water is converted to oxygen gas, empowering life on Earth.