How do chemists control the rate of reactions? - OCR 21st CenturyRate of reaction

Rate of reaction is a measure of how fast a reaction takes place. In industry, chemists control rates of reaction to ensure the production is safe but still fast enough to keep up with demand.

Part of Combined ScienceMaking useful chemicals

Rate of reaction

The rate of a reaction is a measure of how quickly a is used up, or a is formed. Rate of reaction is affected by factors such as , , and to ratio of a solid reactant.

A model of colliding helps to explain why different factors affect rate of reaction.

Collision theory

For a chemical reaction to happen:

  • reactant particles must collide with each other
  • the particles must have enough energy for them to react

A collision that produces a reaction is called a . The is the minimum amount of energy needed for a collision to be successful. This is different for different reactions.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 3, Two pairs of particles move towards each other, Two pairs of particles move towards each other