C6 Rate of and Extent of Chemical Change Flashcards
what is the rate of a chemical reaction?
how fast the reactants are changed into products
what is an example of a slow reaction?
the rusting of iron
chemical weathering (like acid rain damaging limestone buildings)
what is an example of a moderate speed reaction?
magnesium reacting with an acid to produce a gentle steam of bubbles
what is an example of a fast reaction?
burning
what is an example of a really fast reaction?
explosions, they release a lot of gas and are over in a fraction of a second
the …………. the line on the graph, the …………… the rate of reaction.
the …steeper………. the line on the graph, the …faster………… the rate of reaction.
why does the graph become less steep over time?
because the reactants are used up
what does a graph of a quick reaction look like?
steep lines and flat really quickly
the rate of a chemical reaction depends on:
the collision frequency of reacting particles (how often they collide). the more collisions there are the faster the reaction is eg doubling the frequency off collisions doubles
the energy transferred during a collision. particles have to collide with enough energy for the collision to be successful.
what is a successful collision?
a collision that ends in the particles reacting to form products
what is the activation energy?
the minimum amount of energy that particles need to react.
what do particles need to do to start the reaction?
particles need enough energy to break the bonds in the reactants and start the reaction.
factors that increase the number of collisions or the amount of energy particles need to collide with will…………
increase the rate of reaction
what are factors that increases the rate of reaction?
1) temperature
2) the concentration of a solution or pressure of a gas
3) surface area
4) the presence of a catalysts
how does increasing the temperature increase the rate of reaction?
1) when the temperature is increased the particles all move faster
2) if they move faster they collide more frequently
3) also the faster they move the more energy they have, so more of the collisions will have enough energy to make the reaction happen.
how does increasing the concentration or pressure increase the rate of reaction?
1) if a solution is made more concentrated, it means there are more particles knocking about in the same volume of water or other solvent
2) similarly, when the pressure of a gas is increased, it means that the same number of particles occupies a smaller space.
3) this makes collisions between the reactant particles more frequent
how does increasing the surface area increase the rate of reaction?
1) if one of the reactants is a solid then breaking it up into smaller pieces will increase its surface are to volume ratio
2) this means that for the same volume of the solid, the particles around it will have more area to work on - so there will be collisions more frequently.
how does using a catalyst increase the rate of reaction?
1) a catalyst is a substance that speeds up a reaction, without being used up in the reaction itself. this means its not part of the overall reaction equation.
2) different catalysts are need for different reactions, but they all work by decreasing the activation energy needed for the reaction to occur. they do this by providing an alternative pathway with a lower activation energy.
3) enzymes are biological catalysts - they catalyse reactions in living things
what is the equation for rate of reaction?
rate of reaction = amount of reactant used up or amount of product formed / time
what are the three ways of measuring the rate of reaction?
1) precipitation and colour change
2) change in mass
3) the volume of gas given off
how do you measure precipitation and colour change?
1) transparent initial solution and product that is a precipitate (which clouds the solution)
2) observe a mark through the solution and measure how long it takes for it to disappear - the faster the mark disappears the quicker the reaction
3) if the reactants are coloured and the products are colourless ( or vice versa) you can time how long it takes for the solution to lose (or gain) its colour
4) the results are subjective - different people might not agree over the exact point when the mark disappears or the solution changes colour. you can plot a rate of reaction graph from the results.