Rates of reaction - kinetics (A2)

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Chemical kinetics is the study of the rates of chemical reactions. A quantitative study of rates leads to the idea of a rate equation. Understanding rate equations helps chemists to control the rate of chemical changes and to explore the mechanisms of chemical reactions. So this topic gives answers to two important questions: 'How fast?' and 'How?'.
 
In this part of the site we answer general questions about the theory of chemical kinetics. We are asked a lot of questions about investigations, especially studies of the rate of reaction of metals with acid. You will find tutorials and FAQs about these investigations at 'Metals + Acids' investigations.
Tutorials on other investigations and general advice on planning and writing up investigations can be found under Practical Investigations.
 
NEW - Summer 2007
We have also now sorted and listed most of the questions we have received on this topic over the years - see Sorted questions on rates of reaction. The unsorted questions also still appear under 'Recently Asked Questions' at the end of this section.
 

back to A2 Chemistry

Tutorials

• Sorted FAQs on Rates of Reaction.
• 'Metals + Acids' investigations
• Logarithms and the rate equation
• Rates from concentration
• Rates and mechanisms: audio tutorial
• How does 'y = mx + c' relate to the Arrhenius equation?

Webguides

• Schoolhouse kinetics reaction
• Key ideas about rates of reaction
• Catalysts and how they work

Recently Asked Questions

• My extended essay topic is on how most textbooks say if you increase the temperature by 10 K, you double the rate of reaction. I have investigated 3 different reactions, hydrochloric acid and magnesium, hydrochloric acid and sodium thiosulphate, potassium iodide and hydrogen peroxide (iodine clock). My results say that the iodine clock is nearest to the literature prediction and the HCl and magnesium is furthest. Why is this? Is it something to do with steric effects and enthalpy changes? 280708
• I'm doing an iodine clock reaction as my A2 coursework piece to study the rate of reaction between hydrogen peroxide and iodide ions. Now, according to the method, potassium chloride is used as one of the reactants, "so that the ionic strength of the various solutions may be kept at a fairly constant level." What does this mean? Could someone explain it in simple terms. 280708
• I would like to know how you can determine the rate determining step from the rate equation? 060608

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Tests

• Reaction kinetics (A2)

updated: 07 June 2007