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Rate of Reactions Notes

The document provides an overview of the rates of chemical reactions, highlighting key concepts such as collision theory, activation energy, and factors affecting reaction rates including particle size, concentration, temperature, pressure, and catalysts. It explains how these factors influence the frequency of collisions and the overall speed of reactions. Additionally, it outlines methods for investigating reaction rates through measuring reactant consumption or product formation.

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Fahad Alabdullat
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3 views6 pages

Rate of Reactions Notes

The document provides an overview of the rates of chemical reactions, highlighting key concepts such as collision theory, activation energy, and factors affecting reaction rates including particle size, concentration, temperature, pressure, and catalysts. It explains how these factors influence the frequency of collisions and the overall speed of reactions. Additionally, it outlines methods for investigating reaction rates through measuring reactant consumption or product formation.

Uploaded by

Fahad Alabdullat
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

NAME: …………………………………………… CLASS: IX / ………………

TOPIC: Rates of reaction - Notes DATE: ………….…............

The speed of a chemical reaction (also called the rate of a reaction) is a measure of
how fast the reaction takes place. The reaction rate tells us how fast the reaction is
taking place by indicating how much of a reactant is consumed or how much of a
product formed in a given time.

Collision theory:
Collision theory states that in order to react with each other, particles must collide in the
correct orientation and with sufficient energy. The particles might be atoms, ions or
molecules.

Activation energy (Ea):


The minimum energy required by colliding particles for a reaction to occur.

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Factors affecting reaction rates:

1. Particle size (in solids) / surface area

In reactions involving solids, the smaller the particle size faster will be rate of
reaction.
When one of the reactants is a solid, the reaction must take place on the surface of the
solid. Surface area is the exposed matter of a solid substance. By breaking up the solid
into smaller pieces, the surface area is increased, giving greater area for collision to
take place. This causes an increase in the rate of the reaction.

The rate of reaction of a solid substance is related to its surface area. In a reaction
between a solid and an aqueous/liquid/gas, increasing the surface area of the solid
phase reactant increases the number of collisions per second and therefore increases
the reaction rate.

In a reaction between magnesium metal and


hydrochloric acid, magnesium atoms must
collide with the hydrogen ions. When the
magnesium atoms form one big lump…

However the number of collisions per second


between magnesium and hydrogen is higher
and the rate of reaction is faster.
Increasing the surface area of a solid
reactant increases the reaction rate.
By increasing surface area, there are more
collisions per unit of time. That's why many
solids are powdered using a mortar and
pestle before being used in a reaction.

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2. Concentration
The more concentrated the reactants, the greater will be the rate of reaction.
Increasing the concentration of the reactants increases the number of particles in unit
volume of the mixture. This leads to an increase in the number of effective collisions
and, therefore, increases the rate of reaction.

The concentration of a substance can be expressed in a variety of ways depending on


the nature of a substance. Aqueous solutions typically have their concentrations
expressed in mol/dm3. In terms of the collision theory, increasing the concentration of a
reactant increases in the number of collisions between the reacting species per second
and therefore increases the reaction rate.

Consider the reaction between hydrochloric acid and


zinc metal.

In one beaker, 6.0 mol/ dm3 of HCl is reacted with 2.0 g of Zn and in another beaker,
1.0 mol/ dm3 of HCl is reacted with 2.0 g of Zn. Which reaction should occur at the
faster rate?
In terms of the collision theory, collisions between zinc atoms and hydrochloric acid are
more frequent in the beaker containing 6.0 M HCl - there is more acid per unit of
volume.

You can change the concentration of an aqueous species by simply adding more solute
(to make it more concentrated) or adding more solvent (to make it more dilute).
You can change the concentration of a gas by adding more gas to a fixed volume or by
decreasing the volume of the container.

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3. Temperature
An increase in temperature produces an increase in reaction rate.
When a mixture of substances is heated the particles move faster. This has two effects.
1. When the particles move faster
they will travel a greater distance in
given time and so will be involved in
more collisions.
2. A larger proportion of collisions
will exceed the activation energy.
So the rate of reaction increases.

4. Pressure (in gases)


When the reaction involves one or more gases, the increase of pressure can lead
to an increase in the reaction rate.
The increase of pressure forces the particles closer together. This causes more
collisions and increases the rate of reaction.
If you have a certain number of gas molecules, you can increase the pressure by
forcing them into a smaller volume.

Under higher pressure or at a higher concentration, gas


molecules collide more frequently and react at a faster
rate. Conversely, increasing the volume of a gas
decreases pressure which in turn decreases the collision
frequency and thus reduces the reaction rate.
Also note that solids and liquids are not affected by
pressure changes.

5. Catalysts
A catalyst is a substance that speeds up the rate of a reaction but remains
chemically unchanged at the end of the reaction. In other words, the mass of a
catalyst is the same before and after a reaction occurs. Catalysts usually speed up
reactions. Enzymes are protein molecules that act as biological catalyst.

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Investigating rate of reaction:
To find the rate of reaction we can either:
 Measure how quickly the reactants are used up, or
 Measure how quickly the products are formed.

Examples:
1. Following change in mass.

2. Following change in the volume of gas given off.

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3. Following the progress of a precipitation reaction.

Common laboratory equipment:

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