1) why arent they consumed in the reaction ( can you explain step by step how it influences the reaction?)
2) is it energy related?
In: 4
If you imagine a chemical reaction is someone trying to cross a river, the catalyst works like a ferry.
Sure, you could swim all the way, but that would cost a lot of energy. Instead, you can just ride the ferry to the other side, and you will get to transform into product, while the ferry can keep working.
In more chemical terms, how catalysts works depend on each reaction, but usually the catalyst is going to make a temporary bond with one of the reagents, and form an intermediary product, which is then converted into the final product regenerating (usually) the catalyst. This reduces the Activation Energy, the energy necessary to start a reaction, much like you need a spark to start a fire.
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