Kinetics (Physical) (complete)

Question 1

Why does a Maxwell-Boltzmann curve not touch the x-axis apart from at the origin?

How would a Maxwell-Boltzmann curve change with an increase of temperature?

Answer 1

• Begins at the origin because no particles have no energy, so if there is any number of particles, there must be some energy.
• Doesn’t finish at the x-axis because we never fully know the maximum energy of a particle.
• The curve would reach a higher emp on the scale, however it would act like a string being pulled, where the area under the curve always stays the same.

Question 2

Define rate of reaction.

1. Why is it possible to use 1 / time as a measure of the rate of a reaction.

Answer 2

• The rate at which a reaction takes place.

1. Rate of reaction = amount of reactant used up or product formed over time. Rate is inversely proportional to time, so using 1 / time makes it proportional to rate.