REACTION RATES & COLLISION
THEORY
“rate of reaction” - a measure of how fast a reaction takes place.
The rate of a reaction is often expressed as a change in amount
or concentration of a substance (reactant or product) per unit
time.
Chemical kinetics is the study of rates of reactions and factors
that affect them.
FACTORS THAT AFFECT RATES OF REACTIONS
• Nature of reactants – state that substances vary in their chemical
reactivity. Chemical reactivity is a major factor that determines the rate of a
reaction.
• Ability of reactants to meet - consider surface area of contact, classification
of reactions as homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions
• Concentration of reactants - This could be likened to a hallway with just a
few learners to a crowded hallway where they are likely to bump into each
other.
• Temperature of reaction system
• Presence of a catalyst
COLLISION THEORY
For a reaction to take place, reactant particles must have activation energy or the
minimum amount of energy required and the right orientation for effective
collision to bring about a chemical change.
The activation energy appears as a “hill,” which is referred as
the potential energy barrier between reactants and products.
Reactant particles must go over this hill, the minimum energy
required for a reaction to occur, to form the products.
COLLISION THEORY
Activation energy is like the energy needed by the
person to push the ball over the hill. If the person does
not push the ball hard enough, it rolls back down just as
reactant particles that do not have the minimum
amount of energy required. If the ball is given enough
energy, it will go over the hill as reactant particles with
the required amount of energy would go over the
potential energy barrier to form the products.
Activation energy is the minimum energy required for
the electron clouds and nuclei of reactant particles to
overcome the repulsions and form bonds.