What is meant by the rate of a chemical reaction?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The rate of a chemical reaction describes the speed at which the reactions or transformations occur. It's quantified by the change in concentration of reactants or products per unit time and can be influenced by factors such as concentration, temperature, pressure, presence of a catalyst, and surface area.

Step by step solution

01

Define a Rate of Reaction

The rate of a reaction refers to the speed at which a chemical reaction takes place. This is generally quantified by the change in concentration of reactants or products per unit time.
02

Explain its Importance in Chemical Reactions

The rate of a chemical reaction is a crucial factor in chemistry. It helps in understanding how quickly a reactant gets converted into a product. For certain reactions, a slow rate might be favorable, while for others a fast rate might be required.
03

Discuss Factors Affecting Rate of Reaction

Multiple factors can affect the rate of a reaction, including: the concentration of reactants, temperature, pressure, presence of a catalyst, and the surface area of solid reactants.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Variation of the rate constant with temperature for the first-order reaction $$ 2 \mathrm{~N}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{5}(g) \longrightarrow 2 \mathrm{~N}_{2} \mathrm{O}_{4}(g)+\mathrm{O}_{2}(g) $$ is given in the following table. Determine graphically the activation energy for the reaction. $$ \begin{array}{lc} \mathrm{T}(\mathrm{K}) & \mathrm{k}\left(\mathrm{s}^{-1}\right) \\ \hline 273 & 7.87 \times 10^{3} \\ 298 & 3.46 \times 10^{5} \\ 318 & 4.98 \times 10^{6} \\ 338 & 4.87 \times 10^{7} \end{array} $$

Sketch a potential-energy-versus-reaction-progress plot for the following reactions: $$ \begin{array}{l} \text { (a) } \mathrm{S}(s)+\mathrm{O}_{2}(g) \longrightarrow \mathrm{SO}_{2}(g) \\ \Delta H^{\circ}=-296.06 \mathrm{~kJ} / \mathrm{mol} \\ \text { (b) } \mathrm{Cl}_{2}(g) \longrightarrow \mathrm{Cl}(g)+\mathrm{Cl}(g) \\\ \Delta H^{\circ}=242.7 \mathrm{~kJ} / \mathrm{mol} \end{array} $$

The bromination of acetone is acid-catalyzed: \(\mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{COCH}_{3}+\mathrm{Br}_{2} \frac{\mathrm{H}^{+}}{\text {catalyst }} \mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{COCH}_{2} \mathrm{Br}+\mathrm{H}^{+}+\mathrm{Br}\) The rate of disappearance of bromine was measured for several different concentrations of acetone, bromine, and \(\mathrm{H}^{+}\) ions at a certain temperature: $$ \begin{array}{lcllc} & & & & {\text { Rate of }} \\ & & & & \text { Disappearance } \\ & {\left[\mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{COCH}_{3}\right]} & {\left[\mathrm{Br}_{2}\right]} & {\left[\mathrm{H}^{+}\right]} & \text {of } \mathrm{Br}_{2}(\mathrm{M} / \mathrm{s}) \\ \hline \text { (a) } & 0.30 & 0.050 & 0.050 & 5.7 \times 10^{-5} \\ \text {(b) } & 0.30 & 0.10 & 0.050 & 5.7 \times 10^{-5} \\ \text {(c) } & 0.30 & 0.050 & 0.10 & 1.2 \times 10^{-4} \\ \text {(d) } & 0.40 & 0.050 & 0.20 & 3.1 \times 10^{-4} \\ \text {(e) } & 0.40 & 0.050 & 0.050 & 7.6 \times 10^{-5} \end{array} $$ (a) What is the rate law for the reaction? (b) Determine the rate constant.

Distinguish between homogeneous catalysis and heterogeneous catalysis. Describe some important industrial processes that utilize heterogeneous catalysis.

In a certain industrial process using a heterogeneous catalyst, the volume of the catalyst (in the shape of a sphere) is \(10.0 \mathrm{~cm}^{3}\). Calculate the surface area of the catalyst. If the sphere is broken down into eight spheres, each of which has a volume of \(1.25 \mathrm{~cm}^{3}\), what is the total surface area of the spheres? Which of the two geometric configurations of the catalyst is more effective? Explain. (The surface area of a sphere is \(4 \pi r^{2},\) in which \(r\) is the radius of the sphere.)

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