3.5 chemical kinetics Flashcards
what are the different ways you can follow and measure the rate of a chemical reaction?
- measure volume of gas given off (using gas syringe)
- measure change in mass (using scale)
- measure concentration of coloured compounds in solution (using colorimeter)
- measure pressure change in a reaction
how do you find the initial rate of a reaction?
- plot what you are measuring (pressure, volume, mass) against time
- take a tangent at t=0
- gradient = change in y / change in x
rate definition
- a change in concentration of a substance over time
sampling definition
- when a small amount of reaction mixture is removed at timed intervals
quenching definition
- sudden stopping or slowing down of a chemical reaction by adding the mixture to a beaker of ice or diluting
why is sampling and quenching useful?
- in some reactions, further analysis is needed mid-way through a reaction
- some reactions take too long, so this allows us to study reactions as time passes without having to wait for the reaction to complete fully
what are some cons with sampling and quenching?
- sampling is only appropriate when the reaction mixture is homogeneous, otherwise you may be removing a sample that is not fully representative of the whole reaction mixture
- time consuming - as each sample is analysed individually and the process cannot be automated
can stop a reaction which uses a heterogenous catalyst by:
- removing the catalyst
- destroy the catalyst (e.g add OH- to H+ catalyst)
what is a reaction order used to describe?
- the relationship between the concentration of a substance and its effect on the rate of a reaction
zero order:
- the concentration of A has no effect on the rate of reaction
- rate ∝ [A]^0
first order:
- the rate of reaction increases at the same rate as [A] increases
- r.o.r is directly proportional to the concentration
- rate ∝ [A]^1
second order:
- the rate of reaction is proportional to the concentration of A^2
- rate ∝ [A]^2
what does a zero order rate-concentration graph look like?
- rate stays constant even as concentration increases
what does a first order rate-concentration graph look like?
- the rate increases as the concentration increases
- directly proportional
- linear
what does a second order rate-concentration graph look like?
- as the concentration increases, so does the rate at an increasing rate
what is the rate equation?
rate = k[A]^m[B]^n
k= rate constant
[A] = conc of A
m = order of reaction with respect to A
what are the units of rate?
moldm^-3s^-1
e.g rate = k [OH-]
units:
moldm^-3s^-1 = s^-1 x moldm^-3
the orders have nothing to do with the stoichiometric coefficients in the balanced equation. they are worked out experimentally
how do you work out the total order for a reaction?
- by adding all the individual orders together (e.g m+n)
rate constant definition
- this is the constant of proportionality in the rate equation (linking the rate of reaction and the concentrations of the reactants raised to the power of their orders in the rate equation)
- these are constant for any concentration of reactants
- but they change if temperature changes
- k