text: In dynamic reaction mixtures, multiple products exist in equilibrium. Reversible assembly of molecular components generates products and semi-stable intermediates. Reactions can proceed along kinetic or thermodynamic pathways. Initial concentrations of kinetic intermediates are greater than thermodynamic products because the lower barrier of activation (ΔG‡), compared to the thermodynamic pathway, gives a faster rate of formation. A kinetic pathway is represented in figure 1 as a purple energy diagram. With time, the intermediates equilibrate towards the global minimum, corresponding to the lowest overall Gibbs free energy (ΔG°), shown in red on the reaction diagram in figure 1. The driving force for products to re-equilibrate towards the most stable products is referred to as thermodynamic control. The ratio of products to at any equilibrium state is determined by the relative magnitudes of free energy of the products. This relationship between population and relative energies is called the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution.