Which of the following statements best defines a chemical process that is said to be "under kinetic control" at 298 K?
a) A reaction that possesses a small or even positive ΔG∘ yet gives significant product because its activation energy is lower than that of competing pathways.
b) A reaction that has a large negative ΔH∘, so the heat released guarantees that it proceeds quickly regardless of the activation barrier.
c) A reaction that has a large negative ΔG∘ but proceeds at an immeasurably slow rate because its activation energy is very high.
d) A reaction that rapidly reaches equilibrium because both the forward and reverse activation energies are low and equal.