Chemical Interaction Rate: The Speed Of A Chemical Reaction

Introduction: A chemical reaction is a process in which one or more substances are converted into other substances (Brown et al. 2015). The speed of a chemical reaction is called the reaction rate (Brown et al. 2015). The reaction rate is the change in the concentration of reactants or products per unit of time (Brown et al. 2015). Sometimes it is possible to measure the rate of reaction by timing a change in appearance (Van Norman 1963). Activation energy is the least amount of energy needed to break the chemical bonds of reactant molecules so that they can form new products (LAB). Molecules collide continuously, but only those that meet or exceed the activation energy and collide in the proper orientation will form new products (LAB). Temperature, concentration, surface area, and the presence of catalysts affect the rate of chemical reactions (LAB). Temperature is the measurement of the average

Concentration is the number of molecules per volume, so a change in concentration will change the frequency of molecular collisions, which will change the reaction rate. Surface area is the area of a material that is exposed to another substance, so surface area affects reaction rates by determining the amount of a substance able to interact with other substances. Catalysts are substances that increase the rate of chemical reactions but are not chemically changed in the reaction. The problem of this lab is, “What factors affect the rate of chemical reactions?” The hypothesis is, “Temperature, concentration, surface area, and catalysts affect the rate of chemical