Recitation 1: Reaction Rates

Learning Goals:
 Identify examples of reaction rates in everyday life.
 Represent reaction progress graphically.
 Understand variables that affect reaction rates.
 Explain how reaction rates are determined experimentally.

Slow down! Speed up! Reaction Rates and the Factors that Affect Them
We do many things in our daily lives that are ultimately aimed at either
slowing down or speeding up chemical reactions. For instance, when you
bring your groceries home from the store, what’s the first thing you (should)
do with your milk? You put it in the refrigerator. Probably without thinking
about it. But think about it. Why do we refrigerate food? Because we’re
trying to slow down the chemical reactions that cause food to spoil.
Temperature is one factor that affects reaction rates.
Another factor that affects reaction rates is
concentration. This is another one we attempt to control in the
kitchen. When I buy my coffee beans, I don’t just leave them sitting
in the cupboard. I put them into an air-tight canister to keep them
fresher for longer. In chemical terms, that means I’m trying to slow
down the oxidation of my beans by limiting their exposure to air
(and ultimately it’s the oxygen that I’m worried about). Relating this
back to the idea of reaction rates, the rate at which my beans go
“stale” slows down as the oxygen concentration in the canister
decreases (from oxidizing my beans, incidentally). Overall, my
beans are exposed to lower concentrations of oxygen over time
than if I left them out on the counter.
What other factors affect reaction rates? What things do you do in
your daily life to either make chemical reactions go faster or
slower?
Image credits:
Coffee canister: [Link]
Refrigerator: [Link]

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Graphical Representations and Rate Law “Basics”
1. Nitrogen dioxide, NO2, is a gas involved in air pollution. It decomposes to nitrogen monoxide
and oxygen:
2NO2(g) → 2NO(g) + O2(g)
Below are some graphs that correspond to the decomposition of NO 2 at 300C. Answer the
following questions.
This graph plots concentration versus time for both NO2 and NO.
a. On the graph, plot [O2] as a function
Decomposition of NO
of time.
2

b. Describe your reasoning/strategy: 4.50E-02

Concentration (M)
3.00E-02
2.50E-02 [NO2]
2.00E-02 [NO]

1.50E-02
1.00E-02
5.00E-03
0.00E+00
0 150 300
Time (s)

This is the same graph, but without the line for NO.
c. You run the reaction at 400C Decomposition of NO 2
(same initial [NO2]). Predict how this
will affect the initial rate of NO2 4.50E-02
4.00E-02
decomposition. 3.50E-02
Concentration (M)

3.00E-02
2.50E-02
[NO2]
2.00E-02
1.50E-02
1.00E-02
5.00E-03
0.00E+00
0 150 300
Time (s)

d. Draw a line on the graph that illustrates your prediction in c.

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2. Your friend looks at the balanced equation and writes this rate law for the reaction:
Rate = k[NO2]2
You caution your friend that you can’t just look at the overall balanced equation to determine
the rate law.
How could you determine whether your friend is correct? Propose at least two ways of
collecting and analyzing data to answer this question. Write your response below, and include
any sample graphs that would help you make this decision. Hint: One method involves a series
of experiments and the other involves plotting data from a single experiment.

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