6. Chemical Kinetics Flashcards
Rate of reaction
change in concentration of a particular reactant or product / time
Activation energy
The minimum amount of energy that colliding particles must possess for a collision to result in a reaction
Catalyst
A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without, itself, being used up in the reaction
Rate equation
An experimentally-determined equation that relates the rate of reaction to the concentration of substances in the reaction mixture
Rate constant (k)
A constant of proportionality relating the concentration in the experimentally-determined rate expression to the rate of a chemical reaction. The rate constant is only a constant for a particular reaction at a particular temperature
Order of reaction
The power of the reactant’s concentration in the experimentally-determined rate equation
Rate Determining Step (RDS)
The slowest step (step with highest activation energy) in a reaction mechanism
Molecularity
The number of reactant particles taking part in a particular step (usually the RDS) in a reaction mechanism
