Question

How is the rate of a reaction affected by each of the following?

(a)Activation energy

(b)Temperature

(c) Frequency of collisions

(d) Orientation of collisions

Short answer

(a) The rate of reaction goes up as the activation energy decreases.

(b) When temperature increases, the molecules move faster and collide with each other, the rate of reaction increases.

(c) Rate of reaction increases as the frequency of collisions increase.

(d) Orientation of collisions is more specific, the rate of reaction decreases

Step-by-step solution

Understanding the concept how activation energy affects rate of reaction.

Activation energy of a chemical reaction is closely related to its rate. Specifically, the higher the activation energy, the slower the chemical reaction will be, because molecules can only participate in the reaction after reaching the top of activation barrier.

Understanding the concept how temperature affects rate of reaction.

When temperature raises, the molecules move more rapidly and collide with each other, the rate of reaction increases.

A raise in temperature typically increases the rate of reaction. An increase in temperature will raise the average kinetic energy of the reactant molecules and vice versa and hence most of the molecules would have minimum energy required for successful collisions which is known to decrease with temparature.

Understanding the concept how frequency affects reaction rate.

Reaction rate increases with increase in frequency of collisions. The catalyst provides a new reaction path way with lowering activation energy of substance which boosts the rate of reaction without its participation.

Understanding the concept how orientation of collisions affects reaction rate.

Molecules only after successful collisions and over correct orientation in the space can result in the formation of product. Larger the probability of collisions among the reactants with proper alignment can increase the rate of reaction consequently.