A TOPICAL PRESENTATION

ON
RATE OF REACTION

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

in AS Chemistry for Term 4

Submitted by:
1. Virly Virginia Chandra
2. Jesslyn Wijaya
3. Clarissa Nathania
4. Angelina Michelle

Y11 Science

Submitted to:
Ms.Charisma C. David
Teacher
 I. THEORIES/CONCEPTS

Rate of reaction is a fundamental concept in chemistry that refers to

the speed at which reactants are converted into products in a chemical
reaction. The study of reaction rates is crucial in understanding how chemical
reactions occur and how they can be optimized in various industrial and
biological processes.
The rate of reaction can be influenced by various factors, such as
temperature, concentration, pressure, and catalysts. In this paper, we will
explore the fundamental principles of the rate of reaction and investigate how
different factors can affect it. Additionally, we will discuss the methods used to
measure the rate of reaction and how these measurements can be used to
predict the outcome of a chemical reaction. Also, we will discuss the collision
theory of reaction rates, which provides a fundamental understanding of how
reactant molecules interact to form products.

A. Why do reactions take place at different rates?

Before we answer the question above, we need to understand first what rate
of reaction is and its relation to enthalpy change.
Rate of reaction is defined as a measure of how quickly a reactant is used up
or how quickly a product forms.

For example, wood combustion has a high reaction rate since the process is
fast and rusting of iron has a low reaction rate as the process is slow.

The unit for rate of reaction is given by (time)-¹. (Ex. kgmin-¹, moldm-³s-¹)
Enthalpy change of a reaction does not affect the rate of reaction. This is
because for a reaction to take place, the reactant particles need to overcome
a minimum amount of energy called activation energy (Ea).

In exothermic reactions, the reactants are higher in energy than the products.
In endothermic reactions, the reactants are lower in energy than the products.
Therefore, the Ea in endothermic reactions is relatively larger than in
exothermic reaction.

The diagram above shows that the reactants are higher in energy than the
products in the exothermic reaction, so the energy needed for the reactants to
go over the energy barrier is relatively small.
 The diagram above shows that the reactants are lower in energy than the
products in the endothermic reaction, so the energy needed for the reactants
to go over the energy barrier is relatively large.

For a collision to be effective, the reactant particles must collide in the correct
orientation AND possess a minimum energy equal to the Ea of that reaction.

Therefore we can say that the two factors that determine whether a reaction
takes place or not are the enthalpy change (ΔH) and activation energy (Ea);

ΔH Ea Result

+ve low usually no reaction, reactants are thermodynamically

stable

+ve high usually no reaction, reactants are thermodynamically

and kinetically stable

-ve low reaction is likely to occur

-ve high usually no reaction, reactants are kinetically stable

The table above summarizes the effect of the four combinations of ΔH and Ea
on the rate of a reaction

In summary, the rate of reaction and enthalpy change are both factors that
can influence why reactions take place at different rates.

B. Measuring rates of reaction

Measuring the rate of reaction is a fundamental aspect of understanding
chemical reactions, as it provides information about the kinetics and
mechanism of the reaction.
How to find the rate of reaction?
The rate of reaction can be found by measuring the amount of product formed
in a certain period of time. The mass of a solid product is often measured in
grams, while the volume of a gaseous product is often measured in cm^3.

What are the ways to measure rate of reaction?

- measuring the volume of gas given off by a reaction over time
- measuring the loss of mass of a reaction over time when a gas is
produced

Factors that affect the rate of reaction :

- reactant concentration
- physical state of the reactants
- surface area
- temperature
- presence of a catalyst

Nature of Reaction
- The rate of reaction highly depends on the type and nature of the
reaction
- The physical state of reactants, number of reactants, complexity of
reaction and other factors highly influence the reaction rate as well.
 - The rate of reaction is generally slower in liquids when compared to
gasses and slower in solids when compared to liquids. Size of the
reactant also matters a lot. The smaller the size of reactant, the faster
the reaction

Effects of concentration on reaction rate

- According to the collision theory, the rate of reaction increases with the
increase in the concentration of the reactants, as per the law of mass
action, the chemical reaction rate is directly proportional to the
concentration of reactants. This implies that the chemical reaction rate
increases with the increase in concentration and decreases with the
decrease in the concentration of reactants. Time plays a major role in
changing the concentration of reactants and products. Therefore, even
time is a vital factor affecting the reaction rate.

Pressure Factor
- Pressure increases the concentration of gasses which results in the
increase of the rate of reaction. The reaction rate increases in the
direction of less gaseous molecules and decreases in the reverse
direction. It can be understood that pressure and concentration are
interlinked and that they both affect the rate of reaction.

How does temperature affect the reaction rate ?

- According to collision theory, a chemical reaction that takes place at a
higher temperature generates more energy than a reaction at a lower
temperature because colliding particles will have the required activation
energy at high temperature and more successful collisions will take
place. There are some reactions that are independent of temperature.
Reactions without an activation barrier are examples of chemical
reactions that are independent of temperature.

Solvent
The rate of reaction also depends on the type of solvent. Properties of solvent
and ionic strength highly affect the reaction rate.

Order
The order of reaction manages how the reactant pressure or concentration
affects the rate of reaction.

Electromagnetic Radiation
its presence at the chemical reaction may increase the rate of reaction as it
gives the particles of reactants more energy.

Intensity of light
Particles absorb more energy with the increase in the intensity of light thereby
increasing the rate of reaction.

Presence of catalyst
A catalyst can be defined as a substance that increases the rate of the
reaction without actually participating in the reaction. The presence of a
catalyst increases the speed of reaction in both forward and reverse reaction
by providing an alternate pathway which has lower activation energy.

Surface area of the reactants

If the size of a particle is small, the surface area will be more and this
increases the speed of heterogeneous chemical reactions.

Any chemical reaction contains the following two constituents

- Reactants : Substances which undergo chemical reactions
- Products : The substances which are the end products of a chemical
reaction

Activation Energy
the minimum amount of energy that is required to activate molecules or atoms
so that they can undergo chemical transformation.
 If you are not given the mole you can use :
( dm^3 ) Volume of gas : moles x 24

How is mass decrease per move calculated ?

1. Carry out the reaction on the electronic balance first measure the mass
of beaker then simultaneously adding the reactants and loss of mass at
regular interval of time , plot a graph of use of ass versus time and use
the balanced chemical equation of the reaction we can estimate how
many moles of reactants can be produced by using the moles of
reactant and the molar mass of the gaseous product we can calculate
the loss of mass using the formula M = m/n ( M : molar mass of
gaseous product ( g/mol ), m : mass of the lost product, n : moles of
the reactant ) therefore ( mass of loss product ) = ( molar mass ) x ( no
of moles )

C. Making a reaction go faster: increasing the collision rate

Collision theory explains why reactions occur at the particle levels between
these atoms, ions, and or molecules. The reacting particle must Collide with
one another. The rate of the reaction depends on the frequency of collisions.
The theory also tells us that reacting particles often collide without reacting.

The rate of the reaction rises with increasing temperature because the
number of collisions increases with increasing temperature because the
kinetic energy of the molecule increases with increasing temperature. When
the molecule achieves Threshold energy ( the lowest amount of energy that a
reacting molecule must have for effective collisions), the number of effective
collisions increases.

In the collision theory, the rate of reaction increases in the concentration of the
reaction. As per the law of mass action, the chemical reaction rate is directly
proportional to the concentration of the Reaction. This implies that the
chemical reaction rate increases with the increase in concentration and
decreases with the decrease in the concentration of the Reaction.

Figure 1.1

Figure 1.1 is showing that the rate of a chemical reaction can be raised by
increasing the surface area of a solid reactant. This is done by cutting the
substance into small pieces, or by grinding it into a powder.

large pieces = small surface area

small pieces (powder) = large surface area

If the surface area of a reactant is increased:

more particles are exposed to the other reactant there is a greater chance of
particles colliding, which leads to more successful collisions per second.
The rate of a reaction can be increased by adding a suitable catalyst. A
catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction but it is
not used up (remains chemically unchanged at the end). It provides an
alternative reaction pathway of lower activation energy. Catalyst provides a
reaction pathway of lower activation energy. This makes more of the collisions
successful at a given temperature.
 A reversible reaction is a chemical reaction in which the reactants react to
form the products and simultaneously the products again form the reactants.
In reaction the reactants and products continuously react with each other both
in forward and backward reactions. reactant bonds are broken down by the
collision of molecules and further this broken bond generate enough energy to
make new molecules of product

D. Making a reaction go faster: overcoming the activation energy

barrier
Increasing the concentration of a reactant increases the frequency of
collisions between reactants and will, therefore, increase the reaction rate.

There are two ways in which we can increase this fraction:

1) Giving the collisions more energy by raising the temperature.
raising the temperature → faster rate of reaction → collides frequently
→ lowering activation energy

2) Finding another route with a lower activation energy by increasing

the number of enzymes.
Increasing the number of enzyme → lower activation energy of catalyst
and enzyme → rate of reaction increase

Catalyst
A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without
being chemically used up itself.
 How do catalysts work to increase the rate of a chemical
reaction?
It lowers the activation energy which makes more reactant molecules
cross the energy barrier and turn into products. Thus, a catalyst
provides an alternative low activation energy path for a chemical
reaction .

E. The collision theory

The collision theory explains why different reactions occur at different rates,
and suggests ways to change the rate of reaction.

For collisions to be successful:

1) Reactant molecules must collide
2) Sufficient energy to get over the activation energy barrier
3) Proper orientation

For gaseous reactions, it is possible to calculate how often the molecules

collide. This depends on three main factors:
1) Size of the molecules
- Bigger molecules, greater collision chance
 2) Molecules mass
- Larger mass, slower movement of molecules at given temperature &
fewer collisions
3) Molecules mass
- As the temperature raised, molecules move faster and the rate of
collisions increases

Energy of collision : The energy distribution curve

This figure above is the Maxwell - Boltzmann Distribution.

Boltzmann distribution is a probability function used in statistical physics to
characterize state of a system of particles, with respect to temperature and
energy.
Increasing the temperature -
→ energy increases,
→ energies become more spread out,
→ fewer molecules
→ slightly lower maximum

Higher temperature -
→ energy greater than activation energy is much larger

F. Catalysts
Catalysts are substances that increases the rate of a chemical reaction
without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.
The diagram shows that the catalyst speeds up a reaction that would normally
be slow due to the high activation energy. The catalyst is not used up in the
chemical reaction and is not taking part in the chemical reaction

A catalyst increases the rate of a reaction by providing the reactants with an

alternative reaction pathway that is lower in activation energy than the
uncatalyzed reaction.

Catalysts can be divided into two types:

❖ Homogeneous catalysts
❖ Heterogeneous catalysts

Homogeneous catalyst - the catalyst is in the same phase as the reactants,

(is uniformly mixed with the reactants)
Example:

Heterogeneous catalyst - the catalyst is in a different phase to the

reactants, (the catalyst and reactants are of different physical states )
Example:
 II. SUPPORTING QUESTIONS

1. The rate of a reaction was monitored by recording the volume of gas

produced every 5 seconds.

What is the mean rate of reaction in the first 10 seconds of the reaction,
in cm³/s?
A. 2.9
B. 3.0
C. 3.5
D. 2.5

Answer: C. 3.5
Mean rate of reaction is calculated by:
Mean rate of reaction = quality of product formed/time taken
= 35 cm³ / 10s
= 3.5 cm³/s

2. Slow reactions require less energy of activation as compared to fast

reactions. True or False? Why?
Answer :
False. This statement is wrong as the energy of activation is inversely
proportional to the rate of the reaction.
3. A student was investing the rate of reaction between iron and a solution
of sulfuric acid. Two experiments were performed, P and Q, in which the
volume of hydrogen was recorded at regular intervals.

Which change could explain the difference in results between P and Q?

a. The student added a catalyst in P
b. Larger pieces of iron were used in P
c. Less concentrated acid was used in P
d. Larger quantities of both reactants are used in P

Answer: A. The student added a catalyst in P

The correct answer is A because:

The steeper curve in P indicates that this reaction has occurred faster than Q
as a higher volume of hydrogen gas is produced in a shorter period of time.
The addition of a catalyst would speed up the rate of a reaction and explain
why the product is formed faster in P than in Q.
B and C are incorrect as using larger pieces of Fe and a less concentrated
acid would slow the reaction down so curve P would be below curve Q, not
above it.

D is incorrect as both curves level off at the same height, indicating the same
amount of product is formed in both reactions.

4. A student was investigating the rate of reaction between acid and

metals. The experimental set-up is shown below.
Which test tube would give the quickest reaction?

Answer: A

The correct answer is A because

Test tubes A and B contain concentrated acid.

Iron in test tube A is more reactive than copper in B, so A is the test tube
which will react the fastest.
B is incorrect as the relative reactivity of the metals outweighs the greater
surface area of the metal in B, compared to A.

C and D are incorrect as the acid used in these test tubes is dilute hence the
rate of reaction will be slower.

5. The graph shows the results of two separate reaction rate

investigations using excess calcium carbonate sulfuric acid.

Which statement explains the difference between the results?

 a. The temperature was higher in experiment 2
b. Experiment 2 was allowed more time to react
c. Same volume of a more concentrated acid was used in
experiment 2.
d. More calcium carbonate was used in experiment 2

Answer: C.Same volume of a more concentrated acid was used in

experiment 2.

The correct answer is C because:

The curve for the experiment 2 indicates that it produced a higher volume of
gas in a shorter period of time.
This indicates that the rate of reaction was faster in experiment 2 than in
experiment 1.
As the reaction rate was quicker and the volume of product was greater, then
there must have been more acid used since the calcium carbonate was in
excess.
A is incorrect as a higher temperature would produce a steeper curve.

B is incorrect as both reactions were allowed sufficient time to react.

D is incorrect as the calcium carbonate was in excess in both experiments.

 III. CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING [20]

1. Explain two ways of overcoming activation energy! [4]

Answer :
1) Giving the collisions more energy
raise the temperature = raising the temperature -> faster rate of reaction ->
collides frequently -> lowering activation energy.
2) Finding another route with a lower activation energy
increasing number of enzyme -> lower activation energy of catalyst and
enzyme -> increase rate of reaction

2. Which factors increase the rate of reaction? [2]

a. Increasing temperature
b. Increasing concentration
c. Increasing surface area
d. All of these

Answer : d. All of these

3. The rate of this reaction can be measured using the following apparatus.
The results of this experiment are shown on the graph below.

1) How does the rate of this reaction vary with time? [1]
2) Why does the rate vary? [2]
 3) The reaction is catalysed by copper powder. Sketch the graph for
the catalysed reaction on the same grid. [2]
4) Who is copper powder more effective as a catalyst than a single
piece of copper? [1]

Answer:
1) The rate of this reaction vary with time as it:
Decreases or the Reaction stops or Rate becomes zero
2) The rate of reaction varies because:

The concentration of the reactant Decreases

Alternative answers:

The number of effective collisions decreases

The reactant is used up / there is less chemical
There are fewer collisions

3) The graph for the catalysed reaction should be:

Greater /steeper initial slope;

Same final point / curve touches the original curve near the top;

4) Copper powder is more effective as a catalyst than a single piece of copper

because:
 It has a greater surface area

4. Biological catalysts produced by microbes cause food to deteriorate

and decay.
1) What is the name of these biological catalysts? [1]
2) Freezing does not kill the microbes. Suggest why freezing is still a
very effective way of preserving food. [3]

Answer:
1) Enzymes
2) Freezing is still effective in preserving food as:

It reduces the growth of microbes / rate of reproduction of microbes is

lower / microbes are dormant;
Fewer (enzymes) to decay food;
OR
Enzymes are less efficient at lower temperatures;
So there is a slower reaction rate;

5. The rate of the reaction between iron and aqueous bromine can be
investigated using the apparatus shown below.

A piece of iron was weighed and placed in the apparatus. It was

removed at regular intervals and the clock was paused. The piece of iron
was washed, dried, weighed and replaced. The clock was restarted.This
was continued until the solution was colourless. The mass of iron was
plotted against time. The graph shows the results obtained

i. Suggest an explanation for the shape of the graph. [1]

ii. Predict the shape of the graph if a similar piece of iron with
a much rougher surface had been used Explain your
answer. [2]
iii. Describe how you could find out if the rate of this reaction
depended on the speed of stirring [1]

Answer:
i. An explanation for the shape of the graph is:
The rate of reaction decreases / gradient decreases;
Because the concentration of bromine decreases;
The reaction stops because all bromine is used up;
ii. If a similar piece of iron with a much rougher surface had been used:
The initial rate would be greater / gradient greater;
Because bigger surface area / more particles of iron exposed;
OR
The final mass is the same;
Because the mass of bromine is the same so the same mass of iron is
used;
iii. You could find out if the rate of this reaction depended on the speed of
stirring by:
Increasing / decreasing / change the rate of stirring / not stirring;
Measure the new rate / compare results;