AP Chemistry – Chemical Kinetics Review

These flashcards cover key concepts from the AP Chemistry lecture on chemical kinetics, including definitions, theories, and important laws related to reaction rates.

What is studied in chemical kinetics?

The rate at which a chemical process occurs.

What factors influence the rate of a chemical reaction?

Reactant concentrations, temperature, surface area, catalysts, and other environmental factors.

What is the rate law?

The expression that relates the rate of a reaction to the concentration of reactants.

What is activation energy?

The minimum energy required for a reaction to occur.

Define half-life in the context of first-order reactions.

The time required for the concentration of a reactant to decrease to half its initial value.

What is a reaction mechanism?

A series of elementary steps that describe how reactants are transformed into products.

What is an intermediate in a reaction mechanism?

A species that is produced in one elementary step and consumed in a subsequent step.

How does temperature affect reaction rates?

Increasing temperature raises kinetic energy, increasing the frequency and energy of collisions.

What is collision theory?

The theory that for a reaction to occur, reactant particles must collide with adequate energy and proper orientation.

What is a catalyst?

A substance that increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed in the process.

Explain the concept of the rate-determining step.

The slowest step in a reaction mechanism that determines the overall reaction rate.

What is meant by the term 'rate law expression'?

An expression that defines the relationship between the reaction rate and the concentration of reactants.

What does the order of a reaction indicate?

It indicates how the rate is affected by the concentration of each reactant.

What is the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution?

A statistical distribution that describes the energies of particles in a gas.

Explain the significance of enzyme inhibitors.

Substances that reduce enzyme activity by binding to active sites or altering enzyme structure.

What is the function of a catalyst in a reaction?

To provide an alternative pathway for the reaction with a lower activation energy.

Describe elementary reactions.

Reactions that occur in a single step and where the rate law can be directly inferred from the stoichiometry.

How do you determine the rate constant (k)?

By using experimental data from the rate law and the concentrations of reactants.

What effects do surface area have on reaction rates?

Increased surface area leads to more collisions and thus a higher reaction rate.

What is a unimolecular reaction?

A reaction that involves the rearrangement of a single molecule.

Define bimolecular reaction.

A reaction that involves two reacting particles.

What is the relationship between reaction rate and the concentration of reactants?

Generally, an increase in concentration leads to an increase in reaction rate.

Explain the Arrhenius equation.

An equation that gives the rate constant as a function of temperature and activation energy.

What is the importance of the transition state?

It represents the highest energy state that must be surpassed for reactants to become products.

What role do enzymes play in biological systems?

Enzymes act as biological catalysts that increase the rate of biochemical reactions.

Describe the effect of a catalyst on activation energy.

A catalyst lowers the activation energy required for a reaction to proceed.