FACTORS AFFECTING THE RATE OF A

CHEMICAL REACTION
The following events must occur before
a reaction can proceed:

1. The reactant particles must collide with each other.

2. The collisions must be of enough energy to overcome
the ‘energy barrier’, called the activation energy
(more about this on the next slide).
3. The reactants must collide in the correct orientation.
 ACTIVATION
ENERGY 1

Defined as:
The minimum energy required to
bring about a chemical reaction.
If there were no such thing as ‘activation
energy’ life would be very difficult:

Gasoline for your car would ignite as soon as it came into contact with air.
You would burst into flames.
Trees would spontaneously combust.
Activation energy is why these things do not happen, there is an
energy barrier so most reactions need to be ‘started off’ by
putting in some energy.
 ACTIVATION ENERGY 2
Activation energy for a reaction is shown on reaction
profile diagrams (do you remember these?).

Activated intermediate
energy

Activation
energy

Reactants

H

Products
CHANGING THE RATE OF A CHEMICAL
REACTION
To change the rate of a reaction one or more of the
following things must happen:

1. Increase the number of collisions between

the reactant particles
2. Increase the energy of the collisions.
3. Decrease the activation energy.

This is all very well but how

can we follow the progress of
a chemical reaction?
 FOLLOWING A CHEMICAL
REACTION 1
To find the rate of a chemical reaction we
must be able to follow its progress with time.

We have two choices:

1. Record the increase in product concentration as
the reaction progresses.
2. Record the decrease in reactant concentration
as the reaction progresses.
 FOLLOWING A CHEMICAL
REACTION 2
As an example consider the reaction between calcium carbonate and
hydrochloric acid.
You should already know the equation but here it is:

CaCO3 + 2HCl  CaCl2 + H2O + CO2

We can follow this reaction by measuring the volume of carbon
dioxide produced as the reaction proceeds.
Gas being collected

This apparatus can be used

to measure the gas as it is
formed. It is not the only
way, look in your text book
Dilute acid
for more details.

Marble
chips
 FOLLOWING A CHEMICAL
REACTION 3
If you collect data for the total amount of gas produced as the
reaction progresses then plot this data on a graph you should get a
curve similar to that shown below.

Slowing down.

All very well, but what

gas/cm3
Volume of
does the graph tell you? Reaction
finished.

Reaction fastest at
the beginning.

Time/sec.
The gradient or slope of the graph
shows the rate of the reaction.
Steeper slope = faster reaction.
 EFFECT OF SURFACE
AREA 1
When solids take part in chemical reactions only the surface
particles are exposed so they are the only ones that can collide
with particles of other reactants.
‘Inner’ particles are protected and
cannot collide with other particles
until they become ‘exposed’.

The surface particles

are ‘exposed’ and
can react.
 EFFECT OF SURFACE
AREA 2
If we break up this ‘lump’ into smaller
pieces the number of particles has not
changed but the there are now more
‘surface’ particles.

There is now a greater surface

area with more exposed particles
so more collisions can occur,
hence faster reaction.

Larger surface area =

faster reaction.
 EFFECT OF
CONCENTRATION
Consider the reaction between zinc and hydrochloric acid:
Zn + 2HCl  H2 + ZnCl2
(How could you follow the progress of this reaction? Click to find out)

Acid Particles

Zinc

1M hydrochloric acid 2M hydrochloric acid

There are more particles of acid per unit volume in the 2M acid than
there are in the 1M acid. So, there will more collisions between the
acid and zinc particles in the stronger acid, giving a faster reaction.

Higher concentration = faster reaction

 GAS
REACTIONS
The rate of reaction between gases is increased
by increased pressure.
In effect pressure is the gas equivalent of
concentration.

These two gas jars Low pressure,

particles far apart.
contain the same
number of gas particles.

The higher pressure jar

has more particles per unit Higher pressure,
volume which means a particles closer
higher concentration, together.
hence faster reaction.

Higher pressure = faster reaction

 EFFECT OF
TEMPERATURE
According to kinetic theory (do you remember
this?) as the temperature increases the particles in
a substance move about more quickly.
Reaction at 300C Reaction at 500C

As the temperature increases the number of collisions increases as well

as the energy of the collisions. So temperature has a big effect on the rate
of reaction. For every 100C increase the rate approximately doubles.

Higher temperature = faster reaction

 EFFECT OF A
CATALYST 1
A catalyst is a substance that increases the speed of a
reaction, without being used up. A catalyst can be
‘recovered at the end of a reaction and used again.

A catalyst reduces the

activation energy of a reaction.

This is easier to understand with a diagram –

see next slide.
 EFFECT OF A
CATALYST 2
Activation energy The lower activation energy in the
without catalyst. presence of a catalyst means the
reaction will be faster. More of the
collisions have enough energy to
react. There is a lower ‘energy barrier’.
energy

Activation energy
with catalyst.

Catalyst = faster reaction.

SINGLE STEP AND TWO
STEP REACTION
 MORE ABOUT RATE
GRAPHS
Slowing down.

1. Why is the reaction

gas/cm3
Volume of

fastest at the beginning?

Reaction 2. Why does the reaction
finished. slow down?
Reaction fastest at 3. Why does the reaction
the beginning. eventually stop?

Time/sec.
1. This is where the concentration of the reactants is highest, therefore
fastest reaction.
2. As the reactants are used their concentration decreases so the rate of
reaction decreases.
3. One of the reactants is used up, so there can be no further reaction.
 SPECIAL
NOTE
Some exothermic reactions speed up shortly after they
start, this might be unexpected, but think about it!

The temperature increases and this overcomes, at least

to begin with, the effect of reducing the concentration.
So, in some cases the reaction will speed up then slow
down and eventually stop.

Do not get caught out by this. Questions

related to this effect are very common!
 SUMMAR
Y
1. Increasing the surface area gives a faster reaction
because more particles are ‘exposed’ to the other
reactant.
2. Increasing the concentration increases the rate of
reaction because there are more collisions between the
reactant particles.
3. Increasing the temperature increases the rate of
reaction because the particles move move quickly and
so collide more often and with greater energy.
4. A catalyst increases the rate of a reaction because it
reduces the activation energy so more of the collisions
have enough energy to react.
 Measuring Reaction Rates
• Evaluate appropriate method
for monitoring rate of reaction.
• Calculate rate of reaction from
Concentration vs time graph.
 Units of rate
Rate = change in concentration of reactant or product
time for the change to take place

Rate = mol dm-3 = mol dm-3 s-1

s
Rate can also be expressed as cm3 min-1 or mol s-1.
 Obtaining data for concentration-time
graph
For reactions involving acids or bases we can measure:
•pH changes by carrying out titrations.
•pH changes by using a pH meter.

E.g. CH3COOCH3(l) + KOH(aq) CH3COO-K+(aq) + CH3OH(l)

 Obtaining data for concentration-time
graph
Procedure for performing titrations.
1.Remove aliquot from reaction.
2.Stop reaction (quench with another reagent or cool).
3.Titrate against an acid of known
concentration (if reactant is a base…if
reactant is acid, titrate against known
base).
4. Detect endpoint with suitable indicator
e.g.phenolphthalein, methyl orange

E.g. CH3COOCH3(l) + KOH(aq) CH3COO-K+(aq) + CH3OH(l)

Obtaining data for concentration-time
graph
For reactions that produce gases, we can measure:
•the change in volume or pressure.
•the loss in mass of reactants.

Hydrochloric
Acid

E.g. CaCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq) CaCl2(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(l)

Both Methods can be used
Zn + 2HCl  H2 + ZnCl2 – Only 2nd method
 Obtaining data for concentration-time
graph
For reactions that produce visual changes, we can observe
•the formation of a precipitate.
•a colour change.
•using a colorimeter

E.g. Na2S2O3(aq) + 2HCl(aq) 2NaCl(aq) + S(s) + SO2(aq) + H2O(l)

 Obtaining data for concentration-time
graph
For reactions that involve changes in the amounts of ions,
we can measure:
•Changes in the electrical conductivity of the reaction.
(conductimetry)

E.g. Na2S2O3(aq) + 2HCl(aq) 2NaCl(aq) + S(s) + SO2(aq) + H2O(l)

 Activation Energy ( Ea )

The activation energy is the energy barrier that must be

overcome in order for a reaction to occur.
It prevents reactions from taking place spontaneously e.g.
burning petrol.
 Boltzmann distribution

• The area under the curve is equal to the number of molecules in the sample.
The area does not change with conditions.
• There are no molecules in the system with zero energy – the curve starts at the
origin.
• There is no maximum energy for a molecule – the curve gets close, but does
not touch or cross the energy axis.
• Only the molecules with an energy greater than the activation energy, Ea, are
able to react.
Effect of a catalyst:
A catalyst increases the rate of a reaction by providing an alternative
reaction pathway with a lower activation energy.

A catalyst lowers the

activation energy
required for
successful reaction.
The distribution of
energy is the same
but now a greater
proportion of the
molecules lie above
the activation energy
and the rate
new activation energy increases.
with catalyst
Effect of temperature:

At higher
temperatures, the
molecules all have
greater kinetic
energy and the
distribution flattens
and shifts to the right
resulting in a greater
proportion of
molecules exceeding
the activation energy
and so the rate
increases.
 Catalysts and Boltzmann curve
• To increase the rate of a reaction you need to increase the
number of successful collisions. One possible way of doing
this is to provide an alternative way for the reaction to
happen which has a lower activation energy.
THE END