CHEMISTRY : RATE OF REACTION

RATE OF REACTION 1. Rate of reaction is the speed at which reactants are converted into the products in a chemical reaction. 2 Rate of reaction 1____ Time taken . The rate of reaction is inversely proportional to the time taken for the reaction.

3. When a reaction occurs, two obvious changes that occur are: (a) the decrease in the quantity of a reactant with time. (b) the increase in the quantity of a product with time. 4. The changes in any of these quantities of reaction must be visible and measurable so that it can be used to measure the rate of reaction. For example: (a) volume of the gas liberated (b) formation of the precipitate (c) change in mass during the reaction (d) colour changes (e) change in the concentration 5. Unit for the rate of reaction is varies according to the type of quantity selected divided by the time given. For example:

Type of quantity Change in mass/ time taken Change in volume of gas liberated/ time taken Change in concentration of a reactant/ time taken

Unit g s-1 or g min-1 cm s-1 or cm min-1 mol dm-3 s-1 or mol dm-3 min-1

Change in number of moles of a reactant/ time taken 6. Rate of reaction can be measured in two ways: (a) Average rate of reaction (b) Rate of reaction at a given time

mol s-1 or mol min-1

7. Average rate of reaction is the average value of the rate of reaction within a specified period of time. 8. Rate of reaction at a given time in the actual rate of reaction at that instant. It is also known as the instantaneous rate of reaction. Rate of reaction at a given time = gradient of the curve at that instant

9. Rate of a reaction can be affected by five factors: (a) Total surface area or particle size of solid reactant (b) Concentration of reactant (c) Temperature of reaction (d) Use of catalyst (e) Pressure of reaction involving gaseous reactant. 10. As the particle size of a fixed mass of a solid reactant become smaller, the total exposed surface area become larger, hence the rate of reaction increases. 11. When the concentration of reactant increases, the rate of reaction also increases. 12. An increase in temperature will increase the rate of reaction. 13. A catalyst is a substance which can alter the rate of a chemical reaction while itself remain chemically unchanged at the end of the reaction. 14. (a) A positive catalyst is a catalyst that increases the rate of a reaction. (b) A negative catalyst is a catalyst that decreases the rate of a reaction. 15. Characteristics of a catalysts. (a) Catalyst remains chemically unchanged at the end of a reaction.

(b) Catalyst does not change the quantity of products formed. (c) Catalyst is specific in its action. (d) Only a small amount of catalyst is needed to achieve a big increase in the rate of reaction. 16. For the reaction that involve gaseous reactants, the rates of reactions will increase when the pressure increases or vice versa. 17. Application of the factors affecting the rate of reaction in daily life. For example: (a) Food can be cooked faster when smaller pieces of charcoal are used as compared to bigger pieces of charcoal. (b) The decaying and decomposition of food by microorganisms can be slowed down when we store the food in the refrigerator. This is because the low temperature in the refrigerator slow down the decaying of food. (c) Food can be cooked faster in a pressure cooker because the high pressure will raise the boiling point of water to a temperature above 1000C.