Reactants Products

Starter
Expressing Reaction Rates
Expressing Reaction Rates
• Reaction Rate: a reaction proceeds from reactant to product over time.
• Notice that the amount of the reactant decreases as the amount of
product increases. Reactants Products

• Reaction rate of a chemical reaction is generally stated as the change in

concentration of a reactant or product per unit of time, expressed as
mol/(L · s).

• Brackets around the formula for a substance denote its molar

concentration. [NO ]
2

Molar concentration
Expressing Reaction Rates
If the concentration of NO is 0.000 M at time t1 = 0.00 s and 0.010M two seconds after the reaction
begins, calculate the average reaction rate

Reactants Products

(Always final – initial)

Molarity
Expressing Reaction Rates
• You can also choose to state the rate of the reaction as the rate at which CO is consumed

Reactants Products

We only add a negative sign

when we calculate the
change of any reactants.
Expressing Reaction Rates
• In a reaction between butyl chloride (C4H9Cl) and water, the concentration of C4H9Cl is 0.220M at the
beginning of the reaction. At 4.00 s, the concentration of C4H9Cl is 0.100M. Calculate the average
reaction rate over the given time period expressed as moles of C4H9Cl consumed per liter per second.

We add – sign because the

concentration is decreasing
[from 0.22M to 0.1M] so [it
is a reactant].
Collision Theory
• The reactants in a chemical reaction must also collide in order to form products.
• The reactant molecules must come together in a collision in order to react and produce molecules of AB.
• Collision Theory: atoms, ions, and molecules must collide in order to react.
Collision Theory
• Look at the reaction between carbon monoxide (CO) gas and
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas at a temperature above 500 K.

CO(g) + NO2 (g) → CO2 (g) + NO(g)

The reactant molecules collide to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) gas

and nitrogen monoxide (NO) gas.

However, calculations of the number of molecular collisions per

second yield a puzzling result: only a small fraction of collisions
produce reactions.
Collision orientation and the activated complex
The collision should be between Carbon and Oxygen.

The collisions in a and b do not result in a reaction because the molecules are not in position to form bonds

OCONO
Collision orientation and the activated complex

OCONO

Activated complex, or transition state, is a temporary, unstable arrangement of atoms in which old bonds are
breaking and new bonds are forming.

As a result, the activated complex might form products or might break apart to re-form the reactants.
Activation energy (Ea) and reaction rate
• The minimum amount of energy that reacting particles must have to
form the activated complex and lead to a reaction.

• A high (Ea) means that relatively few collisions have the required
energy to produce the activated complex, and the reaction rate is
slow.

• A low (Ea) means that more collisions have sufficient energy to react,
and the reaction rate is faster.
Activation energy (Ea) and reaction rate
Backward Reaction

CO2(g) + NO(g) CO(g) + NO2(g)

reactions that lose This requires a

energy are called greater input of
exothermic reactions energy
Spontaneity and Reaction Rate
If ∆G is negative, the reaction is spontaneous.
2H2 (g) + O2 (g) → 2H2O(g) ∆G = -458 kJ / ∆H = -484 kJ If ∆G is positive, the reaction is not spontaneous.

The balloon is filled with a mixture of hydrogen gas and oxygen gas that
appears not to react.

When the lighted candle introduces additional energy, an explosive reaction

occurs between the gases.

Similarly, the air-fuel mixture in the cylinders of a car show little sign of
reaction until a spark from a spark plug initiates a small explosion which
produces energy to move the car.

As these examples show, reaction spontaneity in the form of ∆G implies

nothing about the speed of the reaction; ∆G indicates only the natural
tendency for a reaction or process to proceed.