Definition of Reaction Rate
The Reaction Rate for a given
chemical reaction is the measure of the
change in concentration of the
reactants or the change in
concentration of the products per unit
time. The speed of a chemical reaction
may be defined as the change in
concentration of a substance divided by
the time interval during which this
change is observed:
rate=ΔconcentrationΔtime(4)
(4)rate=ΔconcentrationΔtime
For a reaction of the
form A+B→CA+B→C, the rate can be
expressed in terms of the change in
concentration of any of its components
rate=−Δ[A]Δt(5)(5)rate=−Δ[A]Δt
rate=−Δ[B]Δt(6)(6)rate=−Δ[B]Δt
rate=Δ[C]Δt(7)(7)rate=Δ[C]Δt
in which Δ[A]Δ[A] is the difference
between the concentration of AA over
the time interval t2–t1t2–t1:
Δ[A]=[A]2–[A]1(8)(8)Δ[A]=[A]2–[A]1
Notice the minus signs in the first two
examples above. The concentration of a
reactant always decreases with time,
so Δ[A]Δ[A] and Δ[A]Δ[A] are both
negative. Since negative rates do not
make much sense, rates expressed in
terms of a reactant concentration
are always preceded by a minus
sign to make the rate come out
positive.
Consider now a reaction in which the
coefficients are different:
A+3B→2D(9)(9)A+3B→2D
It is clear that [B][B] decreases three
times as rapidly as [A][A], so in order to
avoid ambiguity when expressing the
rate in terms of different components,
it is customary to divide each change in
concentration by the appropriate
coefficient:
rate=−Δ[A]Δt=−Δ[B]3Δt=Δ[D]2Δt(1
0)
Factors that affect Reaction Rate.
Chemical reactions proceed at different rates. The factors that affect
reaction rates are:
surface area of a solid reactant
concentration or pressure of a reactant
temperature
nature of the reactants
presence/absence of a catalyst.
Surface Area
Surface area is the exposed matter of a solid substance.
Concentration
The concentration of a substance can be expressed in a
variety of ways depending on the nature of a substance.
Aqueous solutions typically have their concentrations
expressed in mol/L. For example, a solution made by
dissolving sodium hydroxide in water has its
concentration expressed as moles of NaOH per litre of
solution. Gases can also have their concentrations
expressed in mol/L.
Pressure
The concentration of a gas is a function of the pressure
on the gas. Increasing the pressure of a gas is exactly
the same as increasing its concentration. If you have a
certain number of gas molecules, you can increase the
pressure by forcing them into a smaller volume.
Temperature
With the exception of some precipitation reactions
involving ionic compounds in solution, just about all
chemical reactions take place at a faster rate at higher
temperatures. The question is why? Temperature (in
Kelvin degrees) is proportional to the kinetic energy of
the particles in a substance. For example, if the Kelvin
temperature of a substance is doubled, then the
average kinetic energy of the particles in that substance
is doubled.
Nature of Reactants
Individual properties of substances also affect reaction
rates. The scope of these properties is broad and there
are few generalizations that you can apply consistently.
Some of the properties in this category are state of
matter, molecular size, bond type and bond strength.
Catalyst
A catalyst is a species that speeds up a chemical
reaction without being chemically changed upon
completion of the reaction. In other words, the mass of
a catalyst is the same before and after a reaction
occurs.