Rates of Reaction

Different Speeds of Reaction

Different chemical reactions take place at different speeds.
Very fast:

explosion of a petrol-air mixture

precipitation reactions

fireworks going off

coal burning

Moderately fast:

reaction of metals or carbonates with dilute acids

Slow:

rusting of iron in air

reaction of magnesium with cold water

oil forming

silver tarnishing

How do we calculate the speed of reaction?

During a chemical reaction, the reactants get used up as products are formed. We
can measure the speed of reaction by measuring the amount of a reactant used
up per unit time,i.e.
Speed of reaction= amount of reactant used up/time taken
The speed of a reaction can also be measured in terms of the amount of a product
formed/obtained per unit time, i.e.
Speed of reaction= amount of product formed/time taken
For a chemical reaction that produces a gas, the speed of reaction can be found by
measuring the volume of gas produced per unit time, i.e.
Speed of reaction= volume of gas produced/time taken

Measuring Speed of Reaction from Changes in Volume

The speed of a reaction can be found by measuring the following quantities

at regular time intervals:

volume of gas produced by the reaction

the mass of the reactant that remains

Measuring Speed of Reaction from Changes in Mass

The speed of a reaction can also be found by measuring the changes in mass of a
reaction mixture. This method works best for reactions which produce gases such as
carbon dioxide.
Factors Affecting Speed of Reaction
Many factors affect the speed of a chemical reaction. These include:

the concentration of the reactants

the pressure of the reactants (if the reactants are gaseous)

the particle size or surface area of the reactants

the temperature at which the reaction is occurring

Concentration:
Increasing the concentration means there's more of the reactants in the same
volume. Thus with more particles there will be more collisions, and there will be
higher chance of effective collisions, thus increasing the rate of reaction.
Pressure:
This is just like concentration, but it's more to do with gaseous reactants. With
higher pressure--more particles--more collisions--higher chance of effective
collisions--increase rate of reaction.
Surface area:
The bigger the surface area, the more chance of collisions, ditto above. Same thing.
It's all about having more collisions, thus more effective collisions which increase
rate of reaction. E.g. if you had a piece of metal, and you cut it into many smaller
pieces, it would react faster with acid because the acid will have more area of the
metal to collide with.
Temperature:
The higher the temperature, the more thermal energy is transferred to kinetic
energy for the particles, thus they move faster and collide more often. If they have

more energy, it is likelier that they will have minimum activation energy therefore
there will be more effective collisions. And for a change, the rate of reaction
increases... :P

For a reaction to occur between 2 particles:

1. the reacting particles must collide with each other
2. they must collide with a certain minimum amount of energy known as
the activation energy
In this way, collisions between reacting particles result in the formation of product
particles. These collisions are known as effective collisions.
Thus in a reaction between hydrogen and chlorine, only fast-moving molecules with
energies equal to or greater than the activation energy will react on collision to form
hydrogen chloride.

In general, when any factor increases the rate of effective collisions between
reacting particles, it will also increase the speed of reaction.

THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the bodys cells, and waste products away from them. The
circulatory system consists of:

the
the
the
the

heart, which is the muscular pump that keeps the blood moving
arteries, which carry blood away from the heart
veins, which return blood to the heart
capillaries, which are tiny blood vessels that are close to the bodys cells.

The diagram outlines the circulatory system. To make things clear, oxygenated blood is shown in
red, and deoxygenated blood in blue.

Arteries
Blood in the arteries is under high pressure generated by
the heart. The arteries have:

thick outer walls

thick layers of muscle and elastic fibres.

Veins

The blood in veins is under lower pressure than the blood

in arteries. The veins have:

thin walls

thin layers of muscle and elastic fibres.

Unlike arteries, veins have one-way valves in them to keep the blood moving in the
correct direction.

Capillaries

The function of capillaries is to allow food and

oxygen
t

o diffuse to cells while waste is diffused

from cells.
Capillaries have thin walls - only one cell thick that
allow them to effectively perform their function.

The heart
The heart is a muscular organ. It keeps beating at about 70 times per minute. You
can see how it pumps the blood to the lungs and the rest of the body by studying
this animation.
The muscle cells in the heart need a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, and
for their waste products to be removed. So the heart requires its own blood supply
in order to keep beating.
Blood vessels called the coronary arteries supply blood to the heart muscles. If
they become blocked, a heart attack can happen.
Heart attacks
A heart attack can happen because:
1. Fatty deposits build up in the coronary arteries
2. A blood clot can form on a fatty deposit
3. The blood clot can block a coronary artery
4. Some heart muscle cells do not get the oxygen and nutrients they need
5. These cells start to die.

Causes of heart disease

Heart disease is not usually caused by microorganisms - it is usually caused by:

genetic factors, which show as a family history of heart disease

lifestyle factors.

Heart disease is more common in the UK than in non-industrialised countries, and

many other industrialised nations. This is due to lifestyle factors including:

smoking

lack of regular exercise

stress leading to a fast heart rate

drinking a lot of alcohol

poor diet

misuse of drugs.

A lack of exercise and a diet that is high in salt and saturated fat cause people to:

become overweight

have high blood pressure

have high levels of cholesterol in their blood.

These factors contribute to an increased risk of heart disease.

Stars and galaxies

Our Sun is a star. It seems much bigger than other stars in the sky because its
much closer to Earth. Stars form immense groups called galaxies. A galaxy can
contain many millions of stars, held together by the force of gravity.
Our Sun is in a spiral galaxy with 'arms' of stars, called the Milky Way. The Sun is
about half-way from the centre of the galaxy, on one of the arms.
The solar system
The solar system consists of:

a star - the Sun

planets and dwarf planets in orbit around the Sun

satellites - moons - in orbit around most of the planets

comets and asteroids in orbit around the Sun.

There are eight planets, including the Earth, and smaller dwarf planets, such as
Pluto, Ceres and Eris.

The Sun's gravity keeps the planets, dwarf planets, comets and asteroids in orbit.
The gravity of a planet keeps its satellites in orbit.
Planets

The planets take different amounts of time to go around the Sun. A single orbit is
called the planet's year, and the further out a planet is the longer its year takes.
The orbits of the planets in the solar system are almost circular with the Sun near
the centre. Many diagrams - including these here - show the orbits very squashed
from top to bottom. This is to give a sense of perspective or to fit the diagram to a
page in a book.
While the orbits of the planets are almost circular, the orbits of comets are
ellipses- very squashed circles.

Distance in space

Astronomers use telescopes to help them work out the sizes of the planets, moons
and the sun. They can also work out the distances between them.
The distances involved in galaxies are huge. The distance from one star and another
in a galaxy is millions of times more than the distance between the planets in the
solar system. Meanwhile, the distance from one galaxy to another is millions of
times more than the distance between the stars in a galaxy.
Distance between objects in space
Object

Distance from Earth (km)

Earth

Diameter (km)
13,000

Sun

150,000,000

1,391,000

Moon

384,403

3,475

Venus

38,000,000

12,104

Neptune

4,300,000,000

49,528

Space exploration
Space probes
The conditions in space are hostile to life and spacecraft must be designed to
protect their occupants. Space probes can explore other planets without needing
astronauts. Scientists are using different methods to see if there is life on planets
other than the Earth.

Space probes are space craft that can visit other planets without the need for
astronauts. Some of the missions undertaken by such craft include:

Viking 1 and Viking 2 - landed on Mars in the 1970s, took photographs and
analysed soil samples

Mars Global Surveyor - went into orbit around Mars in 1997 and mapped the
surface in 3D

Spirit and Opportunity - two robot vehicles that landed on Mars in 2004

Hubble Space Telescope - image courtesy of NASA

Information about the planets and space can also be obtained using telescopes.
These can be based on Earth, or - as with the Hubble Space Telescope - in space.

SETI
The Earth's atmosphere contains about 21 per cent oxygen as a result
ofphotosynthesis by plants. If we found evidence of oxygen in the atmosphere of
another planet, it could indicate the presence of life forms. It is possible to detect
oxygen and other gases on other planets by studying the light reflected between
planets.
It is thought possible that alien civilisations, which are capable of transmitting radio
signals, may exist. The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is a
programme that uses radio telescopes to look for non-natural signals coming from
space. It should be possible to even detect alien TV programmes, if they exist!
Space probes and landers are also looking for extra-terrestrial life. Space probes
photograph planets looking for evidence of life. We have photographs of channels
on Mars that may have been created by flowing water. Landers touch down on
planets and take a soil sample, which is analysed for evidence of life
Using telescopes
Distant stars and galaxies are too far away for us to reach. We cannot go to them to
study them. So everything we know about distant stars and galaxies comes from
analysing the radiation they produce.
Telescopes are devices used to observe the universe. There are many different
types and some are even sited in space.
Optical telescopes

Optical telescopes observe visible light from space. Small ones allow amateurs to
view the night sky relatively cheaply but there are very large optical telescopes
sited around the world for professional astronomers to use.
Optical telescopes on the ground have some disadvantages:

they can only be used at night

they cannot be used if the weather is poor or cloudy.

Other telescopes
Radio telescopes detect radio waves coming from space. Although they are usually
very large and expensive, these telescopes have an advantage over optical
telescopes. They can be used in bad weather because the radio waves are not
blocked by clouds as they pass through the atmosphere. Radio telescopes can also
be used in the daytime as well as at night.
X-rays are partly blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and so X-ray telescopes need to
be at high altitude or flown in balloons.
Space telescopes
Objects in the universe emit other electromagnetic radiation such as infrared, X-rays
and gamma rays. These are all blocked by the Earth's atmosphere, but can be
detected by telescopes placed in orbit round the Earth.
Telescopes in space can observe the whole sky and they can operate both night and
day. However, they are difficult and expensive to launch and maintain. If anything
goes wrong, only astronauts can fix them.