Year 11 Chemistry Module 3.3

Rates of reactions

What is a catalyst?

A substance that speeds up a chemical reaction by lowering the required activation energy

What is the collision theory?

The theory that states that for a chemical reaction to occur, reacting particles must collide with one another.

What is molecular orientation?

Refers to the spatial alignment of reactant molecules when they collide. For a chemical reaction to occur, molecules must possess sufficient kinetic energy and collide in the correct geometric orientation so that the reactive atoms can effectively break old bonds and form new ones.

What is activation energy?

The minimum amount of energy required to initiate a chemical reaction

What are effective collisions?

Molecular collisions that successfully result in a chemical reaction. For a collision to be effective, reactant particles must have sufficient energy to break existing bonds (meeting or exceeding activation energy) and collide at the correct spatial orientation to form new bonds

What is reaction rate?

Measures how quickly reactants are consumed or products are formed over time.