SCH4U Question 34 Answer

Derek Menkiti
Kanata Academy International
The concentration of reactants is directly proportional to the rate of reaction. With more
particles of reactants, A and B. there are higher chances of successful collisions between each
other at the same time. This leads to higher rats than lower concentration reactants. A real-
world example is antibiotics with higher concentrations, it has a faster effect than weaker
ones.

Increasing temperature also increases reaction rates as it increases energy and frequency of
collisions. The new energy breaks the activation energy easier causing a rise in reaction rate.
For example, enzyme activity increases as our body temperature increases until denatured.
Thus, the breakdown of food is faster.

Catalysts increase the rate of reaction by creating another pathway with a lower activation
energy needed. Thus, a greater percentage of particles with previously insufficient energies
can now react, increasing reaction rates. For example, catalysts are used in environmentally
friendly reactions. The catalyst reduces energy consumption/ wastage. The reduction in
energy requires leads to an increase in rates of reaction.

The surface area of reactants is directly proportional to reaction rates. As the reactant is
broken down into smaller pieces, this increases the surface area of it. With a higher surface
area. There are more opportunities for the reactants to collide with the solid, this increases the
chances of successful collisions between reactants, increasing the rate of reaction. For
example, smaller sizes of coal allow for oxygen to react with more of the coal leading to a
faster combustion reaction.