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CHEMICAL KINETICS= RATES OR SPEEDS OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS

Form 3. 2 Chemical reactions occur at different speeds. Some chemical

reactions are very slow e.g. the rusting of iron metal (takes several weeks), but
some reactions are very fast e.g. fireworks, explosions, occur within
microseconds. Explosion reactions occur in flour mills and timber mills (wood
saw dust) and coal mines because of the fine dust mines. Fine dust has a large
surface area for reaction. In flour mills there is often the risk of an explosion
due to the rapid combustion of the very small particles which have a very
large
surface area to react. When the temperature increases, molecules move
faster and the large surface area is ideal for more frequent collisions and the
rate of reaction increases.

Speed or rate of a chemical reaction – The speed of a chemical reaction is

defined as the rate at which reactants are converted to products or the change
in the concentration of a reactant or product per unit time.

For the reaction a A + b B cC + dD

Rate = d[A] or Rate = d[C] = change in the concentration of C

dt dt change in time

The unit of rate/speed is mol /dm3/s or moldm-3s-1.

To measure the speed/rate of a chemical reaction we can measure

a) change in mass of a reactant against time per time interval

Mg + 2HCl MgCl2 + H2
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to investigate the rate of reaction of calcium carbonate with dilute

hydrochloric acid.
CaCO3 + 2HCl CaCl2 + CO2 + H2O

b) change in the concentration of a reactant and time(titration)

c) the increase in volume of a gaseous product

e.g. reaction of Mg and HCl

d) change in the concentration of a product per unit time.

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e) measuring the time taken for a colour to appear or disappear.

Factors affecting the rate /speeds of chemical reactions

The collision theory-The collision theory states that reacting particles must
collide with each other with sufficient activation energy (Ea) in a favourable
position for a chemical reaction to occur.

-the colliding particles must achieve a minimum amount of energy called

activation energy (Ea), before a reaction takes place.

-those colliding particles with less than Ea, will just bounce off from each other
without producing any chemical change.

-Colliding molecules must achieve the minimum Ea, in order to break their
original chemical bonds so that they can rearrange and form new bonds in the
products.

-If the frequency of collisions increases, the chances of more collision per
second increases. Therefore, the speed/rate of a chemical reaction increases.

a) Temperature- a rise in temperature increases the kinetic energy of the

reacting particles. The particles move faster and more vigorously. Therefore,
there are more frequent collisions/collisions per second. Collisions have more
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sufficient activation energy to react. There is a greater percentage /

proportion / fraction of collisions are successful. Rate of reactions increases.

-At a higher temperature, particles achieving the minimum (E a) are in higher

proportion. Therefore, the speed of chemical reaction increases. The speed of
a chemical reaction usually doubles for each 10°C increase in temperature, for
reactions in the temperature range 10-50 °C. Therefore, an increase
temperature causes an increase in the collision rate and more of the colliding
molecules have sufficient energy (activation energy) energy to react.

b) Concentration- Increasing the concentration of reactants means that the

number of reactant molecules increases in the same volume of aqueous
solution. With more reactant molecules bumping into each other, there is an
increase in the collision rate. Molecules collide more frequently. This increases
the speed of chemical reaction. If the concentration of any reactant in solution
increases, the speed of reaction increases. Concentration is a measure of the
strength of a solution. Concentration is the number of solute moles per unit
volume.

c) Pressure-Pressure only affects reactions involving gases (and not liquids or

solids). Increasing the pressure of a reaction increases the collision
rate/frequency. High pressure can be achieved in two ways:

-more gaseous reactant is pumped in or volume of the reactants/products is

reduced -At low pressure, the reacting particles are far apart, so the number of
collisions is less, therefore low rate of reaction. At high pressure, gaseous
particles are closer, so the number of effective collisions increases per unit
time. The speed of reaction in this way increases with higher pressure.

d) Catalyst- a catalyst is a substance that speeds up the rate of a chemical

reaction but remains chemically unchanged at the end of the reaction.
Catalysts increase the speed of chemical reactions by providing an alternative
reaction pathway with lower activation energy (Ea). Therefore, in a catalysed
reaction, a large proportion of reactant molecules have sufficient energy to
meet a lower activation energy requirement. Thus, the speed of reaction
increases.
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Properties of a catalyst 1- Only a small amount of catalyst catalyses the

reaction for a long time.

2- A catalyst is specific acting on a limited range of substrates.

3-A catalyst remains chemically unchanged at the end of the reaction

(physically changed).

4- A catalyst lowers the activation energy of a reaction.

Catalysts in industry

1-Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5)/vanadium (V) oxide is used as a catalyst in the

Contact Process for the manufacture of sulphuric acid.

2SO2(g) + O2(g) ⇌ 2SO3(g) ΔH=-192 kJ /mol

2-Lumps of iron metal (Fe) are used as a catalyst in the Haber Process.
N2(g) + 3 H2 (g) ⇌ 2NH3 (g) ΔH=-92 kJ /mol

3-a mixture of platinum and rhodium metals are used as a catalyst for the
manufacture of nitric acid in the Ostwald’s Process. The temperatures is 800 -
900°C. 4 NH3 (g) + 5 O2 (g) ⇌ 4NO(g) + 6 H20 (g)

2 NO(g) + O2 2 NO2(g)

4 NO2(g) + O2 (g) + 2H20 (g) 4 HNO3

4-Nickel is used in the catalytic hydrogenation of alkenes (oils) to form

margarines.
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5- A mixture of platinum and rhodium metals are used as a catalyst in vehicle

exhaust systems (catalytic convertors) to oxidise CO to carbon dioxide gas, and
to reduce oxides of nitrogen to nitrogen gas.

2 CO(g) + 2 NO(g) 2CO2(g) + N2(g

e) Surface area/particle size of a solid/state of subdivision

-the smaller the size of reactant particles, the larger is the surface area.

-the large surface area is the area of contact on which more collisions high
collision rate / collide more / many collisions take place.

-big particles have a smaller surface area because the collisions are limited to
the outer surface (inner part not involved).

-if big particles are broken into smaller particles the inner part is exposed to
collisions as well.

-the number of effective collisions per second increases leading to increase in

the speed of reaction.

-powders and other finely divided solids react more quickly than the same
mass in large lumps, because they have a large surface area.

f) Light- some reactions are started by light or require light e.g. photosynthesis,
reactions of alkanes with halogens, photochemical reactions of silver bromide
and silver iodide

g) enzymes- are biological catalysts. Enzymes are protein in nature (organic).

Enzymes are proteins that perform the role of catalysts in biological systems.

-Enzymes are controlled in many ways

i) by inhibitor molecules ii) by end product inhibition.

iii) by the concentration of a reactant/substrate.

How an enzyme works- the Lock and Key hypothesis explains how enzymes
work.

enzyme + substrate ⇌ enzyme substrate product + enzyme complex

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Properties of enzymes 1-They work best at a particular pH and temperature

(optimum pH and optimum temperature) draw graphs.

2-Enzymes are specific acting on a limited range of substrates.

3-Enzymes work best in the temperature range 25-50°C beyond which they are
denatured.

4-Enzymes are denatured by excessive heat and pH.

Experiment aim: To measure the rate of reaction between Magnesium and

hydrochloric acid

Diagram:

Method: 1- Clean a piece of Mg ribbon using sand paper and measure its mass.

2-Put it into a flask and connect a gas syringe as shown in the diagram

3- Using a separating funnel add 20 cm3 of dilute hydrochloric acid

4-Record the volume of hydrogen gas collected in the gas syringe at 30 seconds
intervals, until all the gas has been collected.

5-Plot a graph of volume against time

6-Rate of reaction = total volume of hydrogen collected

total time of reaction

RESULTS

time/mins 0 0,5 1 1,5 2,0 2,5 3,0 3,5 4,0 4,5 5 5,5 6

volume of 0 8 1 20 25 29 33 36 38 39 40 40 40
hydrogen/cm3 4
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Conclusion: 1-The rate changes all through the reaction. It is greatest at the
start, but gets less as the reaction proceeds.

2-The reaction is fastest in the first minute. The steeper the curve, the faster
the rate of reaction.

3-rate of reaction = total volume of hydrogen collected

total time of reaction

= 40 cm3

5 minutes

= 8 cm3 per minute

Experiment Aim: To investigate the speed of a chemical reaction using dilute

Hydrochloric acid, HCl and aqueous sodium thiosulphate Na 2S2O3

Apparatus: beaker, white tile, stopwatch, HCl solution, Na2S2O3 solution, filter
paper

Diagram: Draw

Method: 1-Measure 20cm3 of HCl solution into a conical flask.

2- Put the conical flask on a filter paper with a cross.

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3- Using a measuring cylinder add 20 cm3 of sodium thiosulphate solution.

Start the stop watch at the same time.

4 Record the time taken for cross to become obscured.

5 Repeat the experiment using 10cm3 of HCl plus 10cm3 and 20cm3 of sodium
thiosulphate solution.

6 Repeat the experiment using 5cm3 of HCl and 20cm3 of sodium thiosulphate
solution and 15cm3 of water.

Results:

experiment volume of volume of volume of total time/s

HCl/cm3 H2O /cm3 3
Na2SO3/cm volume/cm 3

1 20 0 20 40 22

2 10 10 20 40 42

3 5 15 20 40 64

The speed of reaction is fast for the first experiment because the HCl solution
is concentrated. The speed of reaction decreases for the second experiment
because the HCl solution is dilute because water has been added.

Conclusion: The rate of reaction is faster for a more concentrated solution.

N.B. The total volume is constant so that there is a fair comparison.

Enzymes in industry

1-The enzyme (zymase) produced by yeast cells catalyses the fermentation of

sugars, citrus fruits, grapes, barley, maize, rye, sorghum, rice to form ethanol.
Fermentation is the anaerobic respiration of sugars in the presence of enzymes
to form ethanol and carbon dioxide. Ethanol is the alcohol that is found in
beverages such as beers, wines and spirits.

Draw a diagram to show the preparation of ethanol by fermentation.

2- Making bread. Bread dough contains yeast and sugar. When the dough is
left to stand in a warm place for an hour or so, the yeast feeds on the sugar
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and carbon dioxide is produced. This makes the dough rise. Then it is baked in
a hot oven.

3- Making yoghurt. Yogurt is made by adding bacteria to milk. First the milk is
sterilised or pasteurised by heating, to kill harmful bacteria. Then it is
inoculated with a starter culture of special bacteria (Lacto bacillus). These
produce enzymes which convert the sugar(lactose) in the milk into lactic acid
and other substances, and make its protein thicken.

4- Making cheese. Traditionally, a liquid called rennet from calves’ stomach

was used in making cheese. Rennet contains two enzymes, chymotrypsin and
pepsin. Nowadays substitutes which have the same effect as rennet are used.
First, a starter culture is added to pasteurised milk to make it sour. Then
rennet is added. It causes the protein case in milk to form a solid gel with fat
and protein trapped inside. The gel is cut and liquid called whey runs out,
leaving behind a rubbery solid called curd. This is compressed and stored at a
controlled temperature. The enzymes act on the protein and fat in it, and turn
it into cheese.