High School Chemistry : Help with Reaction Rate
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Kinetics
Which of the following does NOT speed up a reaction?
Increase the temperature
Increase the reactant concentrations
Add a catalyst
Add the reactants slowly
Add the reactants slowly
There are a few things that can speed up the rate of a reaction. You can increase the temperature or reactant concentrations. You can also add a catalyst to the reaction. Increasing temperature will ensure that reactant molecules move more quickly in solution, causing more collisions and faster reactions. Essentially, increasing temperature will increase the energy available to fuel the reaction. Adding a catalyst decreases the activation energy of the reaction, meaning that the reaction requires less work. Increasing reactant concentrations will shift equilibrium toward the products via Le Chatelier's principle, causing the reaction to speed up in that direction.
Slowly pouring the reactant into the solution will not increase the reaction rate, and can potentially slow it down.
Example Question #1 : Kinetics
Which of the following statements is NOT true concerning catalysts?
They result in more products
They are not used up in the reaction
They increase both the forward and reverse reaction rates
They lower the activation energy
They result in more products
Catalysts and enzymes (biological catalysts) function to increase the rate at which a reaction takes place. They do not affect the amount of products created once at equilibrium. In other words, catalysts will affect kinetics, but not equilibrium. Equilibrium can only be affected by Le Chatelier principles, including temperature change, reactant/product concentration change, or pressure change (for a system involving gases).
Catalysts act by lowering the activation energy of a reaction and stabilizing the transition states. They are not consumed or produced by the reaction, meaning that they are not included in the net reaction equation. Both the forward and reverse reactions will be affected. When the forward reaction is favored by equilibium principles, the catalyst helps make products. When the reverse reaction is favored, the catalyst will still function to help create reactants.
Example Question #2 : Kinetics
If the concentration of each reactant is increased by a factor of two, how much faster will the reaction occur?
128 times faster
246 times faster
8 times faster
76 times faster
16 times faster
128 times faster
We can compare the rates by setting up the following equations:
We can expand the second equation by distributing the exponent:
We can see that the rate is multiplied by a factor of 128 when the concentration of each reactant is doubled.
Example Question #3 : Kinetics
If the concentration of each reactant is increased by a factor of two, how much faster will the reaction occur?
246 times faster
16 times faster
8 times faster
128 times faster
128 times faster
We can compare the rates by setting up the following equations:
We can expand the second equation by distributing the exponent:
We can see that the rate is multiplied by a factor of 128 when the concentration of each reactant is doubled.
Example Question #1 : Help With Reaction Rate
If the concentration of each reactant is increased by a factor of two, how much faster will the reaction occur?
246 times faster
128 times faster
8 times faster
16 times faster
128 times faster
We can compare the rates by setting up the following equations:
We can expand the second equation by distributing the exponent:
We can see that the rate is multiplied by a factor of 128 when the concentration of each reactant is doubled.
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