Speed of Reaction

Chemistry Notes
GCE Study Buddy
Rate of Chemical Change
• Rate of reaction: the speed at which a chemical reaction
proceeds can vary
• Some chemicals reach together very quickly – explosive – as
the energy they produce does not have time to escape, but
builds up, resulting in flashes of light and sound
Measuring speed of reaction:
visible changes
• Suitable changes that can be observed:
• When a volume of gas is given off
• When there is a change in mass during the reaction
• When there are temperature changes
• When there are color changes
• When a precipitate forms
• When there are pH changes
Example of a reaction
• Calcium carbonate (s) + hydrochloric acid (aq)  calcium
chloride (aq) + water (l) + carbon dioxide (g)

• We can monitor the speed of this reaction by measuring the

mass changes every minute
• Or we could monitor the speed of the reaction by measuring
the volume of carbon dioxide given off, using a gas syringe
Reaction rate
• The reaction rate is given by:
• Change in mass or volume / time taken
• Each graph is a plot of this reaction rate, whose units are either in grams
or cm3 per minute
• The gradient of the graph indicates the speed or rate of reaction
• This rate changes throughout the reaction and is indicated by the change
in gradient
• It is greatest at the beginning, but becomes less as the reaction proceeds
• Eventually, the reaction stops and the reaction rate becomes zero (when
the graph becomes flat, or gradient = 0)
Factors which affect speed of
a chemical reaction
• Temperature of the reactants
• Concentration of the reactants
• Pressure on the reaction
• Particle size of the reactants
Temperature
• The higher the temperature, the faster the rate of reaction
• For every 10°C rise in temperature, the rate of reaction
approximately doubles
• Explained by the Collision Theory
• When the temperature is raised, the reactant particles have a
greater heat energy, causing them to move about more and with
a greater kinetic energy
• Therefore they stand a better chance of colliding into another
reactant molecule with sufficient energy to convert into product
molecules
• At lower temperatures, the particles have less kinetic energy and
are less likely to collide with another reactant molecule with
sufficient energy to be converted into products
Concentration
• The more concentrated the reactants, the faster the speed of
a chemical reaction
• This is because at a higher concentration, there is a greater
likelihood that reacting molecules will collide with one
another with sufficient energy to form products
• Hence, pure oxygen is used instead of air in oxygen tents in
hospitals to speed up the recovery of patients
• Pure oxygen also used in oxyacetylene torches because the
number of collisions between the acetylene molecules and
oxygen is increased, so it will burn at a greater speed producing
heat and a higher temperature for welding
Pressure
• The speed of reactions which involve gases is faster at higher
pressure
• higher pressures force the particles closer together and so
their concentration within a certain volume increases
• More collisions therefore occur and the speed of reaction
increases
Particle size
• Smaller particles like powder have a much greater surface area
than larger particles
• With a greater surface area, the other reactants can attack it
more easily and so increase the speed of reaction
• The greater the surface area, the faster the rate of a chemical
reaction
Catalysts
• A catalyst is a substance which increases the rate of chemical
reaction, without itself being chemically changes at the end of
the reaction
• Catalysts work by providing a more direct route from
reactants to products
• If we plot energy against time for a reaction, there is an
energy barrier over which the reactants have to pass
• The height of this barrier above the energy of the reactants is
called the activation energy
• Catalysts lower this activation energy so as to allow the
reactants to change into products more quickly
• Eg. manganese IV oxide to speed up decomposition of hydrogen
peroxide
• Inhibitors: substances which slow down reactions
• Eg glycerin to inhibit decomposition of hydrogen peroxide
Catalysts
• Can also explain catalysts in terms of intermediates
• Compounds formed in between the change of reactants to
products
• They are very unstable, but with the presence of a catalyst, they
are more likely to be formed
Catalyst
• X (reactant) + C (catalyst)  XC (intermediate
• XC + Y (reactant)  Z (product) + C (catalyst)

• Many catalysts are transition metals and often these are good
at adsorbing gases on their surface
• They are surface catalysts
• The reactant molecules on the surface of the catalyst are present
in a greater concentration than when they are simply n the
gaseous phase
• So the reaction proceeds faster
Examples of catalysts
Catalyst Industrial process
Iron Haber Process for the manufacture of
ammonia
Vanadium (V) oxide Contact Process for manufacture of
sulphur dioxide
Nickel Hydrogenation of alkenes in margarine
manufacture
Platinum Manufacture of nitric acid