Rates of Reaction and Factors Affecting Them

• On a rate of reaction graph, what does the line getting steeper show?

  Faster reaction rate
• What does a flat line on a graph of amount of products against time show?

  No change.
• What two factors relating to the collisions between particles influence the rate of a reaction?

  Collision frequency and energy of collisions.
• What are the four factors that affect the rate of a chemical reaction?

  • Temperature
  • Surface Area
  • Concentration/pressure
  • Catalyst
• Why does increasing the temperature of a reaction mixture increase the rate of reaction?

  Collision theory

  Which means that when particles are fast and collide with each other it speeds up the process
• Other than increasing temperature, describe two ways of increasing the rate of reaction between a solution and a solid

  • Increase concentration/pressure
  • Use a catalyst
• What is a catalyst? 


  A substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without being used up in the reaction itself.
• How does a catalyst increase the rate of reaction?

  Decrease activation energy needed by providing an alternate reaction pathway.