RATE OF REACTION

Physical and chemical change

 Physical change
•Physical changes (such as melting or evaporating) do not produce any new chemical substances

•These changes are often easy to reverse

•Making a mixture from 2 or more substances or dissolving a solute in a solvent are examples of physical
changes as no new substances are produced and are usually relatively easy to separate
Chemical change
•During chemical changes (usually referred to as chemical reactions), new chemical substances are
formed that have very different properties to the reactants
•There may be signs that a new substance has formed, such as:
• A colour change
• A precipitate being formed
• Bubbles of gas being produced
•Most chemical reactions are very difficult to reverse
•Energy changes also accompany chemical changes and energy can be given out (exothermic) or taken
in (endothermic)
• The majority of chemical reactions are exothermic with only a small number being endothermic
Slow and Fast reactions
Measuring rate of reaction.
•To measure the rate of a reaction, we need to be able to measure either how quickly the reactants are used up
or how quickly the products are formed
•The method used for measuring depends on the substances involved
•There are a number of ways to measure a reaction rate in the lab; they all depend on some property that
changes during the course of the reaction
•That property is taken to be proportional to the concentration of the reactant or product, e.g., colour, mass,
volume
• faster reactions can be easier to measure when the reaction is over, by averaging a collected
measurement over the course of the reaction some reaction rates can be measured as the reaction
proceeds (this generates more data)
•Three commonly used techniques are:
• measuring mass loss on a balance
• measuring the volume of a gas produced
• measuring a reaction where there is a colour change at the end of the reaction
• Measuring the appearance of precipitate (cross method)
Measuring changes in mass(Mass lost method)
The reaction can be performed in an open flask on a balance to measure the loss in mass of
reactant
Cotton wool is usually placed in the mouth of the flask which allows gas out but prevents any
materials from being ejected from the flask (if the reaction is vigorous)
Ideal for those gases which are heavy like carbon dioxide
Not suitable for hydrogen gas

Measuring the volume of a gas produced

Many reactions involve the production of a gas which will be released during the
reaction
The gas can be collected and the volume of gas monitored as per some methods.
1. Water displacement method for those gases which are insoluble in water.
2. Gas syringe

measuring a reaction where there is a colour change at the end of

the reaction

Cl2 +2KBr---------------Br2 +2KCl

Colour change from pale green to orange/brown

Appearance of precipitate (cross Experiment)

Na2S2O3 +2HCl--------------------2NaCl +SO2 +S +H2O
•Collision theory
• states that in order for a reaction to occur:
• The particles must collide with each other
• The collision must have sufficient energy to cause a
reaction i.e. enough energy to break bonds
•The minimum energy that colliding particles must have to
react is known as the activation energy
•Collisions which result in a reaction are known as successful
collisions
• If they have sufficient energy (i.e. energy greater
than the activation energy), they will react, and the
collision will be successful
•Not all collisions result in a chemical reaction:
• Most collisions just result in the colliding particles
bouncing off each other
• Collisions which do not result in a reaction are known
as unsuccessful collisions
•Unsuccessful collisions happen when the colliding species
do not have enough energy to break the necessary bonds
(i.e. they collide with energy less than the activation energy)
•Increasing the number of successful collisions means that a greater proportion of
reactant particles collide to form product molecules
•The number of successful collisions depends on:
• The number of particles per unit volume - more particles in a given volume
will produce more frequent successful collisions
• The frequency of collisions - a greater number of collisions per second will
give a greater number of successful collisions per second
• The kinetic energy of the particles - greater kinetic energy means a
greater proportion of collisions will have an energy that exceeds the
activation energy and the more frequent the collisions will be as the
particles are moving quicker, therefore, more collisions will be successful
• The activation energy - fewer collisions will have an energy that exceeds
higher activation energy and fewer collisions will be successful
•These all have an impact on the rate of reaction which is dependent on the
number of successful collisions per unit of time
 Rate of reaction
•The rate of reaction is a measure of how fast or slow a chemical reaction is.
•It is calculated by how much reactant is used per unit time OR how much product is produced per unit time
•Changing the conditions of a reaction can alter the rate of the reaction
•Rates of Reaction Factors
Effect of concentration

Explanation:

Increasing the concentration of a solution increases the collision rate

This is because there will be more reactant particles per unit volume, causing more frequent
collisions so there are more successful collisions per second, increasing the rate of reaction
 Effect of concentration of a solution on the rate of
reaction:

Diagram showing the apparatus needed to investigate the

effect of concentration on the rate of reaction
Method:
•Measure 50 cm3 of sodium thiosulfate solution into a flask
•Measure 5 cm3 of dilute hydrochloric acid into a measuring
cylinder
•Draw a cross on a piece of paper and put it underneath the flask
•Add the acid into the flask and immediately start the stopwatch
•Look down at the cross from above and stop the stopwatch
when the cross can no longer be seen
•Repeat using different concentrations of sodium thiosulfate
solution (mix different volumes of sodium thiosulfate solution
with water to dilute it)
Result:
•With an increase in the concentration of a solution, the rate of
reaction will increase
•This is because there will be more reactant particles in a given
volume, allowing more frequent and successful collisions,
increasing the rate of reaction
 A single 2 cm length cube has a surface area of 2 x 2 x 6 = 24cm2. Cutting it into
8 x 1cm cubes means it now has a surface area of 1 x 1 x 6 x 8 = 48cm2
Explanation:
•Increasing the surface area of a solid increases the collision rate
•This is because more of the solid particles will be exposed to the other reactant so
there will be more frequent collisions and therefore more successful collisions per
second, increasing the rate of reaction
 Diagram showing the process of downwards
displacement to investigate the effect of the surface area
of a solid on the rate of reaction
Method:
•Add dilute hydrochloric acid into a conical flask
•Use a delivery tube to connect this flask to a measuring
cylinder upside down in a bucket of water (downwards
displacement)
•Add calcium carbonate chips into the conical flask and
quickly put the bung back into the flask
•Measure the volume of gas produced in a fixed time using
the measuring cylinder
•Repeat with different sizes of calcium carbonate chips
(lumps, crushed and powdered)
Result:
•Smaller sizes of chips cause an increase in the surface area
of the solid, so the rate of reaction will increase
•This is because more surface area of the particles will be
exposed to the other reactant so there will be more
frequent and successful collisions, increasing the rate of
reaction
Increasing the temperature increases the rate of reaction

•Particles need to have sufficient energy to react when they collide

•This is called the activation energy
•At low temperatures only a small number of particles will have the required activation energy so the
reaction will be slow
•At higher temperatures the particles have more kinetic energy so they move faster and with more energy
•The collisions are therefore more energetic, and there are then a greater number of particles with
sufficient energy to react, so the rate of reaction increases
 Effect of using a catalyst
Explanation:
•Catalysts (including enzymes) create alternative
reaction pathways which have a lower activation energy
•This means that more collisions will have sufficient
energy to be successful
•When a catalyst is used, the rate of reaction will
increase
 Diagram showing the apparatus needed to investigate the
effect of a catalyst on the rate of reaction
Method:
•Add hydrogen peroxide into a conical flask
•Use a delivery tube to connect this flask to a measuring
cylinder upside down in a tub of water (downwards
displacement)
•Add the catalyst manganese(IV) oxide into the conical flask
and quickly place the bung into the flask
•Measure the volume of gas produced in a fixed time using the
measuring cylinder
•Repeat experiment without the catalyst of manganese(IV)
oxide and compare results
Result:
•Using a catalyst will increase the rate of reaction
•The catalyst will provide an alternative pathway requiring
lower activation energy so more colliding particles will have
the necessary activation energy to react
•This will allow more successful collisions, increasing the rate
of reaction
 INTERPRETING DATA

• Explaining the shape of the graph

• The steeper the curve, the faster the rate of the reaction
• The curve is steepest initially so the rate is quickest at the beginning of the reaction
• As the reaction progresses, the concentration of the reactants decreases, the rate decreases shown by
the curve becoming less steep
• When one of the reactants is used up, the reaction stops, the rate becomes zero and the curve levels off
to a horizontal line
• The amount of product formed in a reaction is determined by the limiting reactant:
• If the amount of limiting reactant increases, the amount of product formed increases
• If the amount of the reactant in excess increases, the amount of product remains the same
 Graph showing the effect of the concentration of a
solution on the rate of reaction
Explanation:
•Compared to a reaction with a reactant at a low
concentration, the graph line for the same reaction but at
a higher concentration has a steeper gradient at the start
and becomes horizontal sooner

•This shows that with increased concentration of a

solution, the rate of reaction will increase

•As long as the reactant having its concentration changed

is already in excess, the amount of product formed will
not change, but will simply be formed faster
 Graph showing the effect of the surface area of a solid on the rate of reaction

Explanation:
•Compared to a reaction with lumps of reactant, the graph line for the same reaction
but with powdered reactant has a steeper gradient at the start and becomes
horizontal sooner
•This shows that with increased surface area of the solid, the rate of reaction will
increase
 Catalysts
Explanation:
•Compared to a reaction without a catalyst, the graph line for the same reaction
but with a catalyst has a steeper gradient at the start and becomes horizontal
sooner
•This shows that when a catalyst is used, the rate of reaction will increase
•A catalyst will never change how much product is made
 Graph showing the effect of temperature on the rate of reaction

Explanation:
•Compared to a reaction at a low temperature, the graph line for the same reaction
but at a higher temperature has a steeper gradient at the start and becomes
horizontal sooner
•This shows that with increased temperature, the rate of reaction will increase
•Temperature will not affect how much product is made in an irreversible reaction