Physical & Chemical Change

Physical change

 Physical changes (such as melting or evaporating) do not produce any new chemical substances
involving changes in physical states only.
 Mixtures are produced when reactants combine (not Chemically).
 These changes are often easy to reverse and mixtures produced are usually relatively easy to
separate

Chemical change

 In chemical reactions, new chemical products are formed that have very different properties to

the reactants
 Most chemical reactions are impossible to reverse
 Energy changes also accompany chemical changes and energy can be given out (exothermic) or
taken in (endothermic)
 The majority of chemical reactions are exothermic with only a small number being endothermic

What is rate?

Rate is a measure of how fast or slow something is.

Rate is a measure of the change in amount that happens in a single unit of time.

Any suitable unit of time can be used – a second, a minute, an hour, even a day.

The gas that bubbles off is hydrogen. The equation for the reaction is:

zinc + sulfuric acid zinc sulfate + hydrogen

Zn (s) + H2SO4 (aq) ZnSO 4 (aq) + H2 (g)

Both zinc and sulfuric acid get used up in the reaction. At the same time, zinc sulfate and hydrogen form.
You could measure the rate of the reaction, by measuring:

 the amount of zinc used up per minute or

 the amount of sulfuric acid used up per minute or
 the amount of zinc sulfate produced per minute or
 the amount of hydrogen produced per minute.

For this reaction, it is easiest to measure the amount of hydrogen produced per minute, since it is the
only gas that forms. It can be collected as it bubbles off, and its volume can be measured.
In general, to find the rate of a reaction, you should measure:

 the amount of a reactant used up per unit of time or

 the amount of a product produced per unit of time.

A reaction that produces a gas

The rate of a reaction is found by measuring the amount of a reactant used up per unit of time, or the
amount of a product produced per unit of time. Look at this reaction:

magnesium + hydrochloric acid magnesium chloride + hydrogen

Mg (s) + 2HCl (aq) MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)

Here hydrogen is the easiest substance to measure, because it is the only gas in the reaction. It bubbles
off and can be collected in a gas syringe, where its volume is measured.

A reaction that produces a gas

The rate of a reaction is found by measuring the amount of a reactant used up per unit of time, or the
amount of a product produced per unit of time. Look at this reaction:

magnesium + hydrochloric acid magnesium chloride + hydrogen

Mg (s) + 2HCl (aq) MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)

Here hydrogen is the easiest substance to measure, because it is the only gas in the reaction. It bubbles
off and can be collected in a gas syringe, where its volume is measured.

Clean the magnesium with sandpaper. Put dilute hydrochloric acid in the flask. Drop the magnesium into the flask,
and insert the stopper and syringe immediately. Start the clock at the same time.

Hydrogen begins to bubble off. It rises up the flask and into the gas syringe, pushing the plunger out:

At the start, no gas has yet been produced or collected. So the plunger is all the way in.
Now the plunger has been pushed out to the 20 cm3 mark. 20 cm3 of gas have been collected.

The volume of gas in the syringe is noted at intervals – for example every half a minute. How will you know when
the reaction is complete?

This table shows some typical results for the experiment.

You can tell quite a lot from this table. For example, you can see that the reaction lasted about five minutes. But a
graph of the results is even more helpful.

Notice these things about the results:

1. In the first minute, 14 cm3 of hydrogen are produced. So the rate for the first minute is 14 cm3 of hydrogen
per minute. In the second minute, only 11 cm3 are produced. (25 - 14 = 11).So the rate for the second
minute is 11 cm3 of hydrogen per minute. The rate for the third minute is 8 cm3 of hydrogen per minute. So
the rate decreases as time goes on.

The rate changes all through the reaction. It is greatest at the start, but decreases as the reaction
proceeds.

2. The reaction is fastest in the first minute, and the curve is steepest then. It gets less steep as the reaction
gets slower.

The faster the reaction, the steeper the curve.

 3. After 5 minutes, no more hydrogen is produced, so the volume no longer changes. The reaction is over, and
the curve goes flat.

When the reaction is over, the curve goes flat.

4. Altogether, 40 cm3 of hydrogen are produced in 5 minutes.

The average rate for the reaction = total volume of hydrogen

total time for the reaction

= 40 cm3
5 minutes
= 8 cm3 of hydrogen per minute.

Note that this method can be used for any reaction where one product is a gas.
Q

Rate (Speed) of Reaction

Concentration:

 Increase in the concentration of a solution, the rate of reaction will increase

 This is because there will be more reactant particles in a given volume, allowing more frequent and successful collisions per second, increasing the rate of reaction
Explanation:

 Compared to a reaction with a reactant at a low concentration, the graph line for the same reaction but at a higher concentration has a steeper gradient at the start and
becomes horizontal sooner
 This shows that with increased concentration of a solution, the rate of reaction will increase

Effect of surface area

 Increase in the surface area of the solid, the rate of reaction will increase
 This is because more surface area particles will be exposed to the other reactant so there will be more frequent and successful collisions per second, increasing the
rate of reaction

  Compared to a reaction with lumps of reactant, the graph line for the same reaction but with powdered reactant has a steeper gradient at the start and becomes
horizontal sooner
 This shows that with increased surface area of the solid, the rate of reaction will increase

Effect of temperature
  Increase in the temperature, the rate of reaction will increase
 This is because the particles will have more kinetic energy than the required activation energy, therefore there will be more frequent and successful collisions per
second, increasing the rate of reaction

 Compared to a reaction at a low temperature, the graph line for the same reaction but at a higher temperature has a steeper gradient at the start and becomes
horizontal sooner
 This shows that with increased temperature, the rate of reaction will increase

Effect of using a catalyst

Explanation:

 Catalysts reduce the activation energy as they create alternative pathways requiring lower activation energy, allowing more successful and frequent collisions
 This shows that when a catalyst is used, the rate of reaction will increase

 The diagram shows that when a catalyst is used, the activation energy is reduced as it creates an alternative pathway requiring lower activation energy, allowing more
successful and frequent collisions
 This shows that when a catalyst is used, the rate of reaction will increase

 Explosive combustion
 Explosive combustion occurs when there are many fine particles in the air
 Many industrial processes such as metal working, coal mining or flour milling produce
very fine and tiny particles
 These particles have a very large surface area and are combustible in air
 Even a small spark may cause them to ignite and since the surface area is so large, the
rate of reaction can be incredibly fast, hence they are explosive
 Methane gas mixed with air in coal mines can also form an explosive mixture.

Effects of temperature and concentration in terms of collisions between reacting particles

Temperature

 Particles need to have a minimum amount of energy to react when they collide
 This is called the activation energy
 At low temperatures only a small number of particles will have enough activation energy so the
reaction will be slow
 At higher temperatures the particles have more kinetic energy so they move faster and with
more energy
 The collisions are thus more energetic and there is a greater number of particles with sufficient
energy to react, so the rate of reaction increases

Diagram showing the increased kinetic energy that particles have at higher temperatures

Concentration
 Increasing the concentration means there are more particles per cm3, so there is less space
between the particles
 Since there are more particles then it follows that there are more collisions, hence the rate of
reaction increases
 Diagram showing the decreases in space between particles at higher concentrations

Photochemical reactions
These reactions occur only when light is present

The greater the intensity of ultraviolet light then the greater the rate of reaction

Eg the substitution of hydrogen atoms in methane by chlorine:

CH4 + Cl2 → CH3Cl + HCl

1. Silver salts in photography

 Black and white photography film surfaces contain crystals of silver bromide
 When exposed to light they decompose to silver:

2AgBr → 2Ag + Br2

 AgBr is colourless at low concentrations but the Ag appears grey-black

 Parts of the film appear black, grey or white depending on the exposure:
 Stronger light = black or dark grey
 Weaker light = light grey
 Not exposed = white

2. Photosynthesis

 This is the process in which plants produce food for reproduction and growth

The equation is:

6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2

 The process requires sunlight and chlorophyll

  Chlorophyll is the green pigment in plants which absorbs sunlight and acts as the catalyst for
photosynthesis

Catalysts

 A catalyst is a substance that increases the speed of reaction by lowering the energy barrier
required for a reaction to proceed.
 It remains chemically unchanged at the end of a reaction. Only a small amount of catalyst is
required to speed up a reaction.
 The effect of a solid catalyst can be improved by increasing its surface area. When a catalyst has
a smaller particle size, there is a greater surface area on which reactions can take place.
 Note that catalysts only lower the activation energy of a reaction, but do not alter the energy of
the reactants or products.
 Some common catalysts used in industries are as shown in the following table.

Activation Energy

Reactant particles must overcome an energy barrier before they can form products. They must
possess a minimum amount of energy for this to occur. The minimum energy required for
reactants to form products is the activation energy. Particles that have energy that is equal to or
greater than the activation energy will be able to react.

What are enzymes?

Enzymes are proteins made by cells, to act as biological catalysts.

Enzymes are found in every living thing. You have thousands of different enzymes inside you. For
example catalase speeds up the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in your cells, before it can harm
you. Amylase in your saliva speeds up the breakdown of the starch in your food.

Without enzymes, most of the reactions that take place in your body would be far too slow at body
temperature. You would die.
Enzymes are biological catalysts that catalyse biochemical reactions in living organisms.
They are proteins and can only catalyse one type or one class of reactions. These catalysts work best at
certain temperature and pH ranges.
The fermentation of glucose uses enzymes which are produced from yeast to catalyse the formation of
ethanol. The process takes place at approximately 37 °C since these enzymes work best at this
temperature. If temperatures are too low, the enzymes would be inactive. On the other hand, if
temperatures are too high, the enzymes would be denatured and can no longer catalyse reactions.