TOPIC 9

Reaction kinetics What will I study later?

• Order of reaction and rate equations (A level)
• Homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis
What have I studied before? (A level)
• The effect of changes in concentration of • Experimental methods of determining rate of

Introduction
solutions, pressure of gases, temperature, surface reaction (A level)
area of solids and the use of a catalyst on the rate • Experimental method of determining activation
of a reaction. energy (A level)
Reaction kinetics is the study of rates of reactions. Some reactions in everyday life take place very quickly,
while others are very slow. The combustion of petrol in the engine of a Formula 1 racing car is very rapid and • Simple experiments to demonstrate these effects • The importance of reaction rate data in
allows the car to travel at very fast speeds. The formation of stalactites and stalagmites by the decomposition • Explanations of these effects using the collision determining mechanisms for organic reactions
of dissolved calcium hydrogencarbonate into solid calcium carbonate is very slow. It has taken hundreds of theory (A level)
years for these to form in limestone caves, such as the one shown from the Summan region of Saudi Arabia.
Some types of food are kept in a refrigerator or a freezer in order to slow down the rate of deterioration.

All the maths you need

• Recognise and make use of appropriate units in calculations
• Recognise and use expressions in decimal and ordinary form
• Use an appropriate number of significant figures
What will I study in this topic?
• The concept of activation energy
• Plot two variables from experimental or other data
• The Maxwell–Boltzmann model of distribution of
molecular energies
• The role of catalysts in increasing the rate of
chemical reactions
• Reaction profiles for both uncatalysed and
catalysed reactions

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