CHEMISTRY REVISION

RATES OF REACTION & CHEMICAL CALCULATIONS

MEASURING RATE OF REACTION
The rate of a reaction is how much change there is in a given time. You determine it
by how much product is made in a set time. This can be done by:
Capture of measure of the volume of gas produced
Measure the change in mass of the reaction
Measure the amount of light passing through a reaction using a light sensor
(i.e. when it is producing precipitate)

FACTORS AFFECTING RATES OF REACTION

Chemical reactions occur when the reacting particles collide with one another. Not all
collisions, however, have the required activation energy to break and reform bonds.
The number of successful collisions is called the collision frequency; the higher the
collision frequency, the faster the reaction.

Temperature: increasing the temperature increases the speed of the particles

so there are more collisions per second which increases the rate but, more
importantly, also gives each collision more energy so that they make surpass
the required the activation energy
Concentration: increasing the concentration means more particles packed into
the same area so are more likely to collide which increases the collisions per
second which increases the rate
Surface area: increasing the surface area means more particles are exposed
so are more likely to collide which increases the collisions per second which
increases the rate
Catalysts: a catalyst increases the rate of a reaction without changing itself by
providing an alternate route for the reaction which requires less activation
energy so there are more successful collisions per second which increases
the rate
Catalysts are often used in industry because they increase the yield, preserve raw
materials and reduce energy costs. However, the same catalyst doesnt work for all
reactions and, although they arent used up, they must be replaced regularly as they
are affected by impurities and lose activity over time.

EMPIRICAL FORMULA
To find the empirical formula from the reacting masses or percentages you: find the
masses of the reactants, find their mass numbers, divide the masses by their relative
atomic masses and work out the ratio of the reactants (by dividing by the smallest
number from step 3).

CALCULATING MASSES OF REACTANTS AND PRODUCTS

To find the masses of reactants and products in a reaction you need the balanced
symbol equation then you: calculate the relative atomic/ molecular masses of the

reactants and the products, multiply them by the amount produced/ used and
multiply the one you want to find by the same thing.

PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION
To find the percentage of an element in a compound you: divide the total mass of the
element in the compound by the relative molecular mass of the compound.

PERCENTAGE YIELD
In reactions you will not always get the amount of product you expect. This may be
due to:
Reversible reactions not going into completion
Product being lost when it is removed from the reaction mixture
Some of the reactant may react in a unexpected way
To find the percentage yield produced during a reaction you: calculate the relative
atomic/ molecular masses of the reactants and products, multiply the reactants to get
the amount used, multiply the products by the same thing to find the theoretical yield
and dividing the actual yield by the theoretical.

ENERGY CHANGES
Chemical reactions involve breaking the bonds in the reactants and reforming them
to form the products. Bond breaking requires energy (endothermic) and bond making
releases it (exothermic) but the relative energy used/ released determines whether
the overall reaction is endothermic or exothermic. When calculating bond energy a
negative value means that a reaction is exothermic and a positive one means that it
is endothermic.