Steric factors – more important the bigger molecules get.

Activation energy (Ea) is the minimum energy that colliding particles need in order for a reaction to take
place.

Temperature is a measurement of the average amount of kinetic energy of a group of particles. As

temperature increases so does the amount of kinetic energy the particles have.
Notice that as temperature increases, the curve becomes longer and flatter.

•Why?

•It gets longer as at high temperature, more particles have more KE

•It gets flatter because the area under the curve gives the total number of particles, which must stay
constant!
As we increase temperature, more particles have enough energy to react (i.e. they have more than Ea)

•So . . .

•As temperature increases, so does the rate of reaction, because . . .

•. . . More particles have sufficient energy to react

Other ways to increase the rate of reaction:

Increase the concentration
Increase pressure (for gas)
Increase the surface area/decreasing the particle size

A catalyst is a substance which changes the rate of a reaction without being consumed

Catalyst may be homogeneous or heterogeneous

Homogeneous catalysis is catalysis in a solution by a soluble catalyst. Homogeneous catalysis
refers to catalytic reactions where the catalyst is in the same phase as the reactants.

Heterogeneous catalysis is the type of catalysis where the phase of the catalyst differs from the
phase of the reactants or products.
Catalysts work by providing an alternative reaction pathway with a lower activation energy . . .

. . . often through an intermediate state . . .more about this in organic chemistry!!

This means that more particles have enough energy to react (that’s Ea–remember?), and so the reaction
speeds up.

Notice that we need the negative sign, as the concentration of reactants is decreasing, and by
convention, rate is always +ve

We need to introduce 1/stoichiometric coefficient

Rate can be monitered by:

Conductivity – if the solution can conduct electricity (ions are present)

Color – one of the chemicals is a different color to another

pH – If one of the chemicals are largely acidic or alkaline

Mass – If there is a mass that is given off

Temperature – If we know if the reaction is exothermic or endothermic