Catalysts are important in chemical reactions because they help reactions happen faster without getting used up themselves.

They do this by lowering the energy needed for the reactants to change into products.

Here are a couple of examples:

• In the Haber process, which makes ammonia, iron is a catalyst.
• In our bodies, enzymes act as catalysts to help us digest food quickly and easily.

By speeding up reactions, catalysts allow these processes to take place under gentler conditions.

This makes them very important in factories and also in our bodies!