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MODULE 5 – PhySci Subject Teacher:

LESSON

5 HOW CHEMICAL CHANGES TAKES PLACE

Lesson Content
1.1 Collision Theory
1.2 Rate of reaction
1.3 Percent yield
1.4 Limiting Reactant
Objectives:
• Use simple collision theory to explain the effects of concentration, temperature, and particle
size on the rate of reaction.
• Explain reactions qualitatively in terms of molecular collisions.
• Define catalyst and describe how it affects reaction rate
• Calculate percent yield of a reaction

I. Rate of Reaction
• A rate is a measure of how much something changes within a specified amount of time.
• In chemistry, the rate of a chemical reaction, or the reaction rate, is usually expressed as the
change in the amount of reactant or product per unit time.
• It is the time taken for the disappearance of the reactant and/or the appearance of the
product.
• It is also expressed as the amount of reactant that disappeared, divided by the time.

The figure above illustrates the progress of a typical reaction. Over time, the amount of reactant
decreases and the amount of product increases.

II. Collision Theory

• A model called collision theory is used to relate the properties of particles to the rates of
chemical reactions.
• According to collision theory; atoms, ions, and molecules can react to form products when
they collide if the particles have enough kinetic energy.
• Particles that do not have enough energy to react bounce apart unchanged when they
collide.
 An effective collision of oxygen and hydrogen molecules produces water molecules.

And an ineffective collision of oxygen and hydrogen molecules produces no reaction; the
reactants bounce apart unchanged.

• The minimum energy that colliding particles must have in order to react is called the activation
energy.
➢ You can think of the activation energy for a reaction as a barrier that reactants must cross
before products can form.
• When two reactant particles collide, they may form an activated complex.
➢ An activated complex is an unstable arrangement of atoms that forms for a moment at
the peak of the activation-energy barrier.
➢ The activated complex forms only if the colliding particles have enough energy and if the
atoms are oriented properly.
➢ The lifetime of an activated complex is typically about 10-13 seconds.
➢ Its brief existence ends with the reformation of the reactants or with the formation of
products.
➢ Thus, the activated complex is sometimes called the transition state.

The activation-energy barrier must be crossed before reactants are converted to products.
Remember: An endothermic reaction absorbs heat, and an exothermic reaction releases heat.

What factor determines whether a molecular collision results in a reaction?

The molecules must collide with enough energy in order to react. The minimum amount of
energy needed is called the activation energy.
III. Calculating Reaction Rates (Average Rate)

• The average rate is the change in the concentration divided by the total time elapsed over a
period, or time interval.

𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 → 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑠

𝐴→𝐵

𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 =
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

Notice that the formula for the Reactant (A)

− ∆ [𝐴 ]
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 = has a negative sign, while for the Product (B)
∆𝑡 has a positive sign. This is due to the decrease
of concentration on the reactant side, while it
∆ [𝐵]
𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 = increases on the product side. over time.
∆𝑡

Example: Consider the following information for the given reaction:

2 NO2 (g) → 2 NO (g) + O2(g)

• The initial concentration of NO2 is 0.0100 mol/L and its concentration after 150 sec is 0.0055
mol/L. What are the average rate of disappearance of NO 2 during the first 150 s and during
the second 150 sec?

Solution: Since it is looking for the rate of disappearance of NO2, which is the Reactant of the
equation, we are going to use the formula for the reactant.

• Average Rate during the first 150 seconds:

− ∆ [𝐍𝐎𝟐]
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 =
∆𝑡

− [0.0055𝑀 − 0.0100𝑀]
=
150 𝑠 − 0 𝑠

0.0045 𝑀
=
150 𝑠

= 𝟑. 𝟎𝐱𝟏𝟎−𝟓 𝐌/𝐬
 • Average Rate during the second 150 seconds:

− ∆ [𝐍𝐎𝟐]
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 =
∆𝑡

− [0.0038𝑀 − 0.0055𝑀]
=
300 𝑠 − 150 𝑠

0.0017 𝑀
=
150 𝑠

= 𝟏. 𝟏𝐱𝟏𝟎−𝟓 𝐌/𝐬

IV. Factors Affecting Reaction Rates

❖ Temperature
➢ Usually, raising the temperature speeds up a reaction.
➢ Lowering the temperature usually slows down a reaction.
➢ At higher temperatures, particles move faster.
• The frequency of collisions increases along with the percentage of particles that
have enough kinetic energy to slip over the activation-energy barrier.
• Thus, an increase in temperature causes products to form faster.

❖ Concentration
➢ The number of particles in a given volume affects the rate at which reactions occur.
• Cramming more particles into a fixed volume increases the concentration of
reactants, and, thus, the frequency of collision.
• Increased collision frequency leads to a higher reaction rate.

a. b.
The lighted splint glows in air and soon dies out because air is only 20% oxygen (a). When the
glowing splint is plunged into pure oxygen, it immediately bursts into flame. The increased
concentration of oxygen greatly speeds up the combustion reaction (b).
❖ Particle Size
➢ The total surface area of a solid or liquid reactant affects the rate of a reaction.
• The smaller the particle size, the greater the surface area is for a given mass of
particles.
• The result of an increase in surface area is an increase in the frequency of collisions
and the reaction rate.
• Another way to increase the surface area of solids is to dissolve them.
• In a solution, particles are separated and more accessible to other reactants.
• You can also increase the surface area of a solid by grinding it into a fine powder.
• Small dust-like particles, however, can be dangerous when suspended in air.

Example: When a piece of magnesium is placed in dilute acid, hydrogen ions can collide with
magnesium atoms.
 + 2+
Mg(s) + 2H (aq) → Mg (aq) + H2(g)

a. b.

Only atoms at the surface of the metal are available for reaction (a). Dividing the metal into
smaller pieces increases the surface area and the number of collisions (b).

❖ Catalysts
➢ Increasing the temperature is not always the best way to increase the rate of a reaction.
A catalyst is often better.
• Recall that a catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a reaction without
being used up during the reaction.
• Catalysts permit reactions to
proceed along a lower energy
path.

➢ The activation-energy barrier for

the catalyzed reaction is lower
than that of the uncatalyzed
reaction.

➢ When the barrier is lower, a greater

fraction of reactants have the
energy to form products within a
given time.

Example: The rate of reaction of hydrogen and oxygen at room temperature is negligible. But
with a small amount of platinum (Pt) as a catalyst, the reaction is rapid.

• A catalyst is not consumed during a reaction.

• Therefore, it does not appear as a reactant in the chemical equation.
• Instead, the catalyst is often written above the yield arrow, as in the equation
above.

➢ An inhibitor is a substance that interferes with the action of a catalyst.

• Some inhibitors work by reaction with, or “poisoning,” the catalyst itself.
• Thus, the inhibitor reduces the amount of catalyst available for a reaction.
• Reactions slow or even stop when a catalyst is poisoned.

V. Types of Catalysts

• Homogenous Catalysts
➢ A reaction is considered homogeneously catalyzed when the catalyst and the reactant
is in the same physical state or phase.
➢ This most often happens with gaseous catalyst-reactant pairs.
 ➢ Types of homogeneous catalysts include organic acids in which the donated hydrogen
atom is replaced by a metal, a number of compounds blending carbon and metal
elements in some form, and carbonyl compounds joined to cobalt or iron.

• Heterogeneous Catalysts
➢ When the catalyst and the reactants are in different phases, with the reaction
occurring at the interface between them (most commonly, the gas-solid “border”), it is
considered to be a heterogeneously catalyzed reaction.
➢ Some of the more common heterogeneous catalysts include inorganic solids such as
elemental metals, sulfides and metallic salts, as well as a few of organic substances.

• Enzymes
➢ Enzymes are proteins that function as catalysts in living systems.
➢ Theses enzymes have components called substrate binding sites, or active sites, where
the molecules involved in the reaction under catalysis become attached.
➢ The component parts of all proteins are amino acids, and each of these individual
acids has an uneven charge distribution from one end to the other, which makes this
property as the main reason enzymes possess catalytic capabilities.

VI. PERCENT YIELD

Percent yield is the actual yield divided by the theoretical yield times 100

SAMPLE PROBLEM: