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Rate of reaction and activation energy
Reactions occur when reactant particles collide with a
minimum amount of energy called the activation energy.

The rate of reaction is

defined as the change in
concentration of reactants
(or products) per unit time.

The activation energy for a

reaction is the minimum
amount of energy that
particles need to have if a
collision between them is to
result in a reaction.

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Factors affecting rate of reaction

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Rates: true or false?

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Measuring rates of reaction
To measure the rate of reaction, we need to be able to
measure either how quickly the reactants are used up or how
quickly the products are formed. The method used for
measuring depends on the substances involved.

If a graph of concentration or volume of products or reactants

is plotted against time, the gradient will be the rate of reaction.
concentration

concentration
of reactants

of products

time time
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Measuring rates

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Rates of reaction: testing

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The rate equation
The rate equation is an equation that relates the
concentrations of substances involved in a reaction to the
rate of the reaction. For the reaction A + B C

the rate of reaction depends on the concentrations of A and B

([A] and [B]) and various constants in the following way:

Rate = k [A]m [B]n

 k is the rate constant (units depend of values of m and n)

 m is the order of reaction with respect to A

 n is the order of reaction with respect to B.

m + n = overall order of the reaction

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Determining the rate equation
The rate equation can be determined by completing a
series of experiments varying the concentrations of each of
the reactants.

A + B C

To determine how [A] affects the rate, several different

experiments can be carried out in which [B] is kept constant
and [A] is changed. The data can then be used to work out the
relationship between rate and [A].

A similar set of experiments can be carried out keeping [A]

constant and varying [B] to determine how changing [B]
affects the rate of reaction.

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Orders of reaction

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Orders of reaction: summary

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The effect of temperature on k
When temperature increases, rate of reaction increases. This
is because the rate constant, k, increases with temperature.

rate constant, k
temperature (K)
(mol dm3 s–1)

k (mol dm3 s–1)

556 4.45 × 10–5
575 1.37 × 10–4
629 2.52 × 10–3
666 1.41 × 10–2
700 6.43 × 10–2
temp. (K)
781 1.34

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Rate equations: true or false?

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Example rate calculations

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Rate calculations

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Rate determining step
Many reactions take place using more than one step.

In a reaction such as this one, it is highly unlikely that all three

reactant particles will collide at the same time. It is more likely
that this reaction will take place in a number of steps that
involve other species, called intermediates.

BrO3– + 6H+ + 5Br – 3Br2 + 3H2O

In a multi-step reaction, the slowest step is called the rate

determining step.

Any step that occurs after the rate determining step will not
affect the rate of reaction, and therefore will not appear in the
rate equation.

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More about the rate determining step

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The rate equation and mechanisms

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Rate determining step: questions

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Glossary

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What’s the keyword?

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Multiple-choice quiz

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