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This page describes the factors controlling the speeds of chemical reactions and the collision
theory behind it discussed. The factors affecting the speed of reaction are also presented
using particle models to give a theoretical basis to the rules on the effects of concentration,
pressure, temperature, solid reactant particle size (surface area), stirring, catalysts and light.
Methods of how to collect data are also described and graphical treatment of the observations
and how to draw conclusions. How do we graphically interpret tables of results and what
graphs are useful and why. How to we calculate the speed of a reaction?
SECTIONS on this page: 1. What do mean by rate/speed of reaction and its measurement? * 2.
Collision theory of reaction * 3. Factors: 3a concentration, 3b pressure, 3c stirring, 3d particle
size/surface area, 3e temperature, 3f catalyst, 3g light * 4. Examples of graphs
KEY WORDS-PHRASES in alphabetical order for this rates web page: hydrochloric/sulphuric
acid-metal e.g. Mg/carbonate reaction * hydrochloric acid-sodium thiosulphate reaction *
Activation energy * Catalysts * Concentration effect * Graphs-gas collection * Graphs-examples
* hydrogen peroxide decomposition * How reactions happen * Interpreting results * Light
(catalyst) effect * Methods of measuring rate * Pressure effect * Rate of reaction * Reaction
profiles * Stirring effect * Surface area/size of solid particle reactant effect * Temperature effect
The shape of the graph is quite characteristic (see diagram above and notes below).
o The reaction is fastest at the start when the reactants are at a maximum (steepest
gradient in cm3/min).
o The gradient becomes progressively less as reactants are used up and the
reaction slows down.
o Finally the graph levels out when one of the reactants is used up and the reaction
stops.
o The amount of product depends on the amount of reactants used.
o The initial rate of reaction is obtained by measuring the gradient at the start of
the reaction. A tangent line is drawn through the first part of the graph, which is
usually reasonably linear from the x,y origin 0,0.
This gives you an initial rate of reaction in cm3 gas/minute,
Typical results from a gas producing reaction are shown below, for different
amounts or concentrations of reactants. How to calculate the reaction rate
is explained below.
e.g. for run q [ ], after 2 mins, 20 cm3 of gas formed, so the rate of reaction is
20/2 = 10 cm3/min.
From the graph of results you can measure the relative rate of reaction from
(i) the initial gradient in cm3/min (see on diagram above), (ii) you can estimate
from the graph the volume of gas formed after a particular time e.g. 3 minutes
or (iii) you can estimate the time it takes to form a particular volume of gas. (i)
is the best method i.e. the best straight line covering several results at the
start of the reaction.
Keeping the temperature constant is really important for a 'fair test' if you are
investigating speed of reaction/rate of reaction factors such as concentration
of a soluble reactant or the particle size/surface area of a solid reactant. On
the advanced gas calculations page, temperature sources of error and their
correction are discussed in calculation example Q4b.3, although the
calculation is above GCSE level, the ideas on sources of errors are legitimate
for GCSE level.
Note that if the temperature of a rates experiment was too low
compared to all the other experiments, the 'double error' would occur
again, but this time the measured gas volume and the calculated
speed/rate of reaction would be lower than expected.
By using the same flask and paper X you can obtain a relative measure of the speed of
the reaction in forming the same amount of sulphur.
The speed or rate of reaction can expressed as 'x amount of sulphur'/time, so the rate is
proportional to 1/time for a particular run of the experiment. In other words since you don't
know the absolute mass of sulphur formed, the reciprocal of the time is taken as a
measure of the relative rate of reaction.
o You can investigate the effects of
(a) the hydrochloric acid or sodium thiosulphate concentration
(b) the temperature of the reactants.
o to show the effects of changing one of the variables you can plot graphs of e.g.
reaction time versus temperature or concentration,
or rate of reaction (1/reaction time) versus temperature or concentration.
You can also measure the speed of this reaction by using a light gate to detect the precipitate
formation. The system consists of a light beam emitter and sensor connected to computer and
the reaction vessel is placed between the emitter and sensor. The light reading falls as the
sulphur precipitate forms.
Further examples of graphs that may be obtained from the different methods.
For more details see Advanced Level Chemistry Theory pages on "CHEMICAL
KINETICS"
3a The effect of Concentration (see also graphs 4.6, 4.7 and 4.8)
WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF CHANGING THE CONCENTRATION OF A REACTANT?
AND WHY IS THE REACTION SPEED CHANGED?
Why does increase in concentration speed up a reaction?
If the concentration of any reactant in a solution is increased, the rate of reaction is
increased
o Increasing the concentration, increases the probability of a collision between reactant
particles because there are more of them in the same volume and so increases the
chance of a fruitful collision forming products.
o e.g. Increasing the concentration of acid molecules increases the frequency or chance
at which they hit the surface of marble chips to dissolve them (slower => faster,
illustrated below)
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3e The effect of Temperature (see also graphs 4.3, 4.4 and 4.8)
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o See also graphs 4.3, 4.4 and 4.8 for a numerical-quantitative data interpretation.
1. With increase in temperature, there is an increased frequency (or chance) of collision due to
the more 'energetic' situation - but this is the minor factor when considering why rate of a
reaction increases with temperature.
2. The minimum energy needed for reaction, the activation energy (to break bonds on collision),
stays the same on increasing temperature. However, the average increase in particle kinetic
energy caused by the absorbed heat means that a much greater proportion of the reactant
molecules now has the minimum or activation energy to react.
3. It is this increased chance of a 'successful' or 'fruitful' higher energy collision leading to
product formation, that is the major factor, and this effect increases more than the increased
frequency of particle collision, for a similar rise in temperature.
4. This is usually only fully discussed at AS-A2 level, but it may impress the teacher for
GCSE coursework if you look up the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution of kinetic energies,
its quite difficult to get over some of these ideas without considering graphs of probability
versus particle KE, but that's up to you! There is also the Arrhenius Equation relating rate
of reaction and temperature - but this involves advanced level mathematics.
5. For more details see Advanced Level Chemistry Theory pages on "CHEMICAL
KINETICS"
3f The effect of a Catalyst (see also light effect and graph 4.8)
WHAT IS A CATALYST?
HOW DOES IT AFFECT THE SPEED OF A CHEMICAL REACTION?
HOW DOES A CATALYST WORK?
Why does a catalyst speed up a reaction?
I was once asked "what is the opposite of a catalyst? There is no real opposite to a catalyst,
other than the uncatalysed reaction!
The word catalyst means an added substance, in contact with the reactants, that
changes the rate of a reaction without itself being chemically changed in the end.
There are the two phrases you may come across:
o a 'positive catalyst' meaning speeding up the reaction (plenty of examples in most
chemistry courses)
o OR a 'negative catalyst' slowing down a reaction (rarely mentioned at GCSE,
sometimes at AS-A2 level, e.g. adding a chemical that 'mops up' free radicals or other
reactive species).
Catalysts increase the rate of a reaction by helping break chemical bonds in reactant
molecules and provide a 'different pathway' for the reaction.
This effectively means the Activation Energy is reduced, irrespective of whether its an
exothermic or endothermic reaction (see diagrams below).
Therefore at the same temperature, more reactant molecules have enough kinetic energy
to react compared to the uncatalysed situation. The catalyst does NOT increase the energy of
the reactant molecules!
Although a true catalyst does take part in the reaction and may change chemically temporarily,
but it does not get used up and can be reused/regenerated with more reactants. It does not
change chemically or get used up in the end.
o Black manganese(IV) oxide (manganese dioxide) catalyses the decomposition of
hydrogen peroxide.
o hydrogen peroxide ==> water + oxygen
2H2O2(aq) ==> 2H2O(l) + O2(g)
o The manganese is chemically the same at the end of the reaction but it may change a
little physically if its a solid e.g.
o In the hydrogen peroxide solution decomposition by the solid black catalyst
manganese dioxide, the solid can be filtered off when reaction stops 'fizzing' i.e. all of
the hydrogen peroxide has reacted-decomposed.
o After washing with water, the catalyst can be collected and added to fresh colourless
hydrogen peroxide solution and the oxygen production 'fizzing' is instantaneous! In
other words the catalyst hasn't changed chemically and is as effective as it was fresh
from the bottle!
Note: At the end of the experiment the solution is sometimes stained brown
from minute manganese dioxide particles. The reaction is exothermic and the
heat has probably caused some disintegration of the catalyst into much finer
particles which appear to be (but not) dissolved. In other words the catalyst
has changed physically BUT NOT chemically.
Different reactions need different catalysts and they are extremely important in
industry: examples ..
o nickel catalyses the hydrogenation of unsaturated fats to margarine
o iron catalyses the combination of unreactive nitrogen and hydrogen to form ammonia
o enzymes in yeast convert sugar into alcohol
o zeolites catalyse the cracking of big hydrocarbon molecules into smaller ones
o most polymer making reactions require a catalyst surface or additive in contact
with or mixed with the monomer molecules.
Enzymes are biochemical catalysts are dealt with on another page - enzymes and
biotechnology
o They have the advantage of bringing about reactions at normal temperatures
and pressures which would otherwise need more expensive and energy-
demanding equipment.
For more details on catalysis see Advanced Level Chemistry Theory pages on
"CHEMICAL KINETICS"
PLEASE Note
(i) rate of reaction = speed, (ii) see two other graphs and notes
(ii) Graphs 4.1, 4.2 and 4.5 just show the theoretical shape of a graph for a single particular
experiment. Graphs 4.3 and 4.4 (temperature), 4.6 and 4.7 (concentration) and 4.8 (several
factors illustrated) shows the effect of changing a variable on the rate of the reaction and
hence the relative change in the curve-shape of the graph line.
(iii) The rate of reaction may be expressed as the reciprocal of the reaction time (1/time) e.g. for
the
time for sulphur formation (to obscure the X) in the sodium thiosulfate - hydrochloric acid
reaction
or where a fixed volume of gas is formed, though in this can also be expressed as gas
volume/time too as cm3/s or cm3/min even though the gas volume is the same for a given set of
results of changing one variable whether it be concentration or temperature.
If you have detailed data e.g. multiple gas volume readings versus time, the best method for
rate analysis is the initial rate method described on and below the diagram of the gas syringe
gas collection system.
Graph 4.2 shows the increase in the amount of a solid product with time.
The graph tends towards a maximum amount possible when all the solid
reactant is used up and the graph becomes horizontal. This means the
speed has become zero as the reaction has stopped. Here the gradient is a
measure of the rate of the reaction.
Graph 4.3 shows the decrease in reaction time with increase in temperature as
the reaction speeds up. The reaction time can represent how long it takes to
form a fixed amount of gas in e.g. in the first few minutes of a metal/carbonate
- acid reaction, or the time it takes for so much sulphur to form in the sodium
thiosulphate - hydrochloric acid reaction. The time can be in minutes or
seconds, as long as you stick to the same unit for a set of results e.g. a set of experiments
varying the concentration of one of the reactants. Theory of temperature effect
Graph 4.5 shows the increase in the amount of a gas formed in a reaction
with time. Here the gradient is a measure of the rate of the reaction. Again,
the graph becomes horizontal as the reaction stops when one of the
reactants is all used up! More on this type of graph.
Graph 4.6 shows the effect of increasing concentration, which decreases the
reaction time, as the speed increases because the greater the concentration
the greater the chance of fruitful collision. See the notes on rate in the Graph
4.3 paragraph above and the theory of concentration effect
(iv) Z could represent taking half the amount of reactants or half a concentration. The reaction
is slower and only half as much gas is formed.
(v) W might represent taking double the quantity of reactants, forming twice as much gas e.g.
same volume of reactant solution but doubling the concentration, so producing twice as much gas,
initially at double the speed (gradient twice as steep).
See also graphs for enzymes showing effects of pH, temperature and concentration.
For more details on concentration results analysis see Advanced Level Chemistry Theory
pages on "CHEMICAL KINETICS"
This page should help with ideas about factors controlling the rates of chemical reactions for
coursework projects, assignments, investigations etc.