CHEMICAL

KINETICS

CHEM 18
CHEMICAL KINETICS
• It is an area of chemistry that concerns itself with the
rate at which reactions occur.
• These reactions may include spoilage, rusting,
combustion, and metabolism.
REACTION RATES
• This refers to the speed at which a reaction occurs in
each span of time.
• It can be calculated through:
REACTION RATES
• In a scenario where the stoichiometric relationship is
not strictly one-to-one, the coefficients will be balanced
and then implemented into the reaction rate.
• In general:

aA + bB cC + dD
RATE LAW
• This refers to an equation that depicts the importance of
the concentration of reactants to the reaction rate.
• Where:

k = rate constant
m & n = reaction order
REACTION ORDER
• This refers to the exponents found in the rate law and is
not based on the stoichiometric coefficients.
• It can be determined through the following:
Method of Initial Rates
Integrated Rate Laws
METHOD OF INITIAL RATES
• The reaction orders are determined in a controlled setup
where the reactions are left to run multiple times. The rates
of reaction are then measured in each run to determine the
values.
INTEGRATED RATE LAW
• This makes use of an equation to express the concentration
of reactants as functions of time.
• Zeroth Order Rate Law:

• First Order Rate Law:

• Second Order Rate Law:

FACTORS AFFECTION
REACTION RATE
• The surface area of the reactants
• The concentration of the reactants
• The pressure at which the reaction happens
• The temperature at which the reaction happens
• The presence of a catalyst
SURFACE AREA
• This can apply to reactions that involve a solid and either a
gas or a liquid.
• A higher surface area for the solid can increase the
presence and chances of collisions occurring. Therefore,
finer solids exhibit faster reaction rates.
CONCENTRATION
• Greater concentrations allude to greater amounts of the
reactants which can result in increased chances and
presence of collisions during the reaction.
PRESSURE
• This applies to reactions that involve gaseous reactants.

• Higher pressures have been observed to lead to faster

rates of reaction.
• This does not apply to solid and liquid reactants.
TEMPERATURE
• Particles in the reaction move at a higher speed when
subjected to higher temperatures which leads to more
chances and presence of collisions.
• This can apply to any type of reaction.
CATALYST
• These are substances that are not consumed during the
reaction but can influence its overall rate.
• Examples of this are the enzymes in biological systems.