RATES OF

REACTION
MS. ABERDEEN
Rates of Reaction

►
Measuring Rate
of Reaction
It is difficult to measure
concentration change directly, so
when experiments are carried out on
rates of reaction the following can
be measured which are proportional
to concentration:
► Mass
► volume of gas
► colour intensity of precipitate
► electrical conductivity.
Measuring Rate of Reaction

The rate of reaction can

change with different factors Example: if the effect of
(example temperature, temperature on the rate of the
concentration or particle size reaction is being observed,
of reactants) so when rate concentration and particle size
experiments are carried out, of reactant should be kept
only one of these factors constant.
should be varied at a time.
Measuring
Volume of Gas

The volume of gas given

off can be measured at
time intervals using a gas
syringe or upturned
measuring cylinder initially
full of water.
The rate of the following
reaction can be measured
this way:
Mg(s) + 2HCl(aq) 🡪 MgCl2
(aq)
+ H2(g)
Measuring Change in Mass

The decrease in mass of the reaction

can be measured over time using a
balance if the reaction produces a gas
that escapes.
The rate of the following reaction can
be measured this way:
CaCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq) 🡪 CaCl2(aq) + CO2(g)
+ H2O(l)
Measuring colour
intensity, pressure,
temperature or pH
A change in colour intensity,
pressure, temperature or pH can
be measured over time using
different apparatus.
When sodium thiosulfate reacts
with hydrochloric acid, a
suspension of sulfur is formed
Na2S2O3(aq) + 2HCl (aq) 🡪 2NaCl (aq)
+ S(s) + SO2(g) + H2O (l)
The suspension of sulfur gets
denser and denser until it
obscures a cross place below it.
Measuring the Rate by Sampling

For some reactions, small samples are removed from the reaction
mixture at time intervals and analysed by titration.
This can be done for the following reaction:
2KI(aq) + 2HCl (aq) + H2O2 (aq) 🡪 2H2O(l) + I2 (aq) + 2KCl(aq)
The reactants for the above reaction are colourless but as the reaction
proceeds the solution gets a deeper and deeper brown due to the
increased concentration of iodine.
Measuring the Rate by Sampling

The increase in concentration can be

measured by the following method:
1. Take a fixed volumes of samples as
particular time.
2. Immediately after each sample has been
taken, pipette the sample into sodium
carbonate solution to stop the reaction
3. Titrate each sample with standard sodium
thiosulfate solution
4. The end point of the titration is when the
brown colour of the iodine disappears.
5. Repeat this process with each sample
Collision Theory
The Collision Theory for
Chemical Reactions
As a chemical reaction proceeds, the existing bonds in the reactants
break so that new bonds can form in the products. For this to occur the
following must take place:
► The particles of the reactants must collide with each other so that
the bonds in the reactants can be broken.
► The reactant particles must collide with enough energy to break
their bonds and enable new bonds to form in the products (the
minimum energy needed is known as activation energy).
► The reactant particles must collide with correct orientation i.e. they
must line up correctly with each other so bonds can break and
reform.
Rate Curves

A rate curve is drawn to show the

progression of a measured property, such as
concentration, temperature, volume of gas,
as the time proceeds.
Rate Curves

Look at the following data for a reaction of magnesium with

hydrochloric acid:

Concentration of 0.4 in0.3

Using the information 0.2 plot the0.1
the table following0.05
graphs: 0.0 0.0
-3
acid (moldm )
Concentration of acid versus time
VolumeofofHgas versus
Volume 0 time
48 96 144 168 192 192
2
(cm3
Time (s) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Graphs

For the concentration versus time graph, a downward curve is

achieved. The curve gets less step as the reaction proceeds i.e. the
reaction is getting slower.
Graphs

For the volume of product against time, an upward curve is achieved

The curve gets less steeps as the reaction proceeds i.e. the reaction is
getting slower.
Both of these graphs are known as rate curves.
Rate Curves

Rate curves have a similar shape which shows

that the rate of a reaction decreases as
reaction proceeds. From rate curves the
following information can be noted:
► At the start of the reaction the gradient is at
its steepest (reaction rate is at its highest).
The concentration of the reactants particles
are high and so there are frequent collision
between particles.
► As the reaction proceeds the gradient
becomes shallower (reaction rate is
decreasing). As the concentration of the
reactant particles decreases, the frequency
of collision between particles decrease.
► The curve becomes horizontal (gradient is
zero). This shows that the reaction has
reached completion and stopped.
Factors that Affect Rates of
Reaction
The Effect of Concentration on
Reaction Rate
The higher the concentration of a reactant, the faster the reaction.
This occurs because as the concentration of reactant increases, the
number of particles in a unit volume of solution also increases. As a
result, the particles collide more frequently increasing the chances of
effective collisions.
The Effect of Concentration of
Reaction Rate
The Effect of Temperature on Rate
of Reaction
The higher the temperature at which a reaction occurs, the faster the
reaction.
o
NB for some reactions, if the temperature increases by 10 C, the rate
of the reaction approximately doubles.
As temperature is increased, the reactant particles get more kinetic
energy and so particles move faster and collide more frequently.
As particles collide with more energy the collision have a
higher change of taking place with enough activation
energy.
The Effect of Temperature on
Reaction Rate
The Effect of
Surface Area on
Reaction Rate
The smaller the particles of reactant,
the faster the reaction occurs (for
particles in a solid state).

A reaction occurs on the surface of

solids. Small solids have a larger total
surface area than large particles with
the same mass.
Decreasing the particle size exposes a
greater surface area to the other
reactant and so particles collide
more frequently.
Presence or Absence of Catalyst on
Reaction Rate

When added, most catalyst speed up a

reaction however a few catalyst
(inhibitors) slow down a reaction.
A catalyst speeds up a reaction by
providing alternative pathways which
require less activation energy.
As this occurs, more collision occur with
enough activation energy for the
particles to react.
 The Effect of Changing
Different Factors on Rate
Curves

►Note the following:

► The blue curve has a steeper gradient
(reaction occurring at faster rate)
► The blue curve becomes horizontal sooner
(reaction reaches completion in less time)
► Both curves become horizontal when the
same amount of products has been
made.