Chemical Kinetics Flashcard

Front

What is chemical kinetics?

Back

Chemical kinetics is the branch of chemistry that studies the rates of chemical reactions and the factors affecting them.

Front

What factors affect the rate of a chemical reaction?

Back

Factors affecting reaction rate include temperature, concentration, surface area, catalysts, and the nature of the reactants.

Front

How does increasing temperature affect reaction rate?

Back

Increasing temperature generally increases the reaction rate by providing more energy to the reactant molecules, leading to more frequent and effective collisions.

Front

What is the effect of concentration on reaction rate?

Back

Increasing the concentration of reactants typically increases the reaction rate due to a higher likelihood of collisions between reactant molecules.

Front

Why does decreasing particle size increase reaction rate?

Back

Decreasing particle size increases the surface area available for reaction, leading to more collisions and a higher reaction rate.

Front

What is a catalyst?

Back

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

Front

What is the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution?

Back

The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution describes the distribution of molecular energies in a gas, showing how energy varies among molecules at a given temperature.

Front

What does the area under the Maxwell-Boltzmann curve represent?

Back

The area under the Maxwell-Boltzmann curve represents the total number of molecules in the system.

Front

What is the most probable energy of molecules in a gas?

Back

The most probable energy is the energy corresponding to the peak of the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution curve.

Front

How does a catalyst affect the activation energy of a reaction?

Back

A catalyst lowers the activation energy required for a reaction, allowing it to proceed more quickly.