Understanding the rate of a reaction

The rate of a reaction is not how much of products are formed nor how much of reactants disappears but rather how fast the reaction takes place.

For a reaction to take place there are certain conditions that must occur:

• The particles must collide with enough energy for bonds to break.
• The particles must be properly orientated.

The speed of a reaction can be found in a number of ways:

1. By measuring the time a certain amount of product is formed
2. By measuring the time taken for a reactant to disappear.

Factors affecting the rate of a reaction:

• Concentration
• Particle size
• Pressure

Concentration:- Increasing the concentration of a reaction increases the rate of the reaction.

Particle size: - The smaller the particle the faster the rate of the reaction.

Pressure:- Like concentration increasing the pressure increases the rate of the reaction but its usually for gases.