Chemical Reactions

Chemical Reactions - The Collision Theory and Factors Affecting the

Rate of a Chemical Reaction

Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to explain the collision theory and describe
the factors affecting the rate of reaction such as concentration, temperature, and particle
size.
Chemical kinetics is the branch of chemistry that studies reaction rates and factors
affecting rates.
Chemical reactions happen when the reactants collide. But will all collisions result
in a reaction or are there requirements for a reaction to occur after
collision?

Last Updated: 08.04.16

Learn about it!

According to the collision theory, the rate of a chemical reaction is directly
proportional to the number of collisions between the reactants. However, only those
which collide effectively will result in a chemical reaction. For an effective collision to
happen, the following conditions should be met by the reactants:

1. They must be properly oriented when they collide.

2. They must be energetic enough to surpass the activation energy or the energy
barrier.

Proper Orientation

Consider the reaction which has an activation energy of .

Above are the structures of and (grey = C, red = O), and below are three possible ways
the molecules can collide with one another:

Among the collisions (A, B, and C), only B is expected to proceed in a reaction because it
is the one which is properly oriented. This is based on the fact that this collision is
expected to form a bond between the C atom of and O atom of which is what is seen
from the structure of (shown below).

Because the molecules are not properly oriented in Collisions A and C, they will not lead
to the formation of the product.
Learn about it!
Energy Higher than Activation Energy
The activation energy or the energy barrier is the energy needed to be surpassed by
the reactants for a reaction to occur. When the energy barrier is higher, the reaction is
slower.
It should be noted that not all properly oriented collisions have enough energy to result
in the transformation of the reactants. The kinetic energy of the reactants should be high
enough to exceed the activation energy. Therefore, for to react with , the kinetic energy
of the reactants should be greater than .

Try it!
Consider the reaction . Refer to the structures of , , and below (blue = N, red = O):

Make a diagram showing the correct orientation of collision between the reactants to
form the product.
Learn about it!
Factors Affecting the Rate of Reaction
The three factors that can affect the rate of a chemical reaction are concentration of
reactants, temperature, and particle size.
Concentration
An increase in concentration increases the rate of reaction.
Reason: Concentration is the number of molecules present in a specified volume. When
the concentration is high, more particles are present; therefore, there is a higher
frequency of effective collisions.
Temperature
An increase in temperature increases the rate of reaction.
Reason: Energy is applied to increase the temperature. The added energy provides
additional kinetic energy to the reactant molecules. Higher kinetic energies means
greater frequency of effective collisions.
Particle size
The smaller the particle, the faster the rate of reaction.
Reason: Smaller particles have larger surface area. The greater the surface area, the
more sites of collision there will be.

What do you think?

Another factor that increases reaction rate is the presence of a catalyst. A catalyst is a
chemical species that participates in the reaction but does not get used up. How does a
catalyst speed up the reaction?

Key Points
 According to the collision theory, the rate of reaction is directly proportional to
the number of collisions between the reactants.

 An effective collision is characterized by reactants colliding with proper

orientation and enough energy to surpass the activation energy.

 The activation energy or energy barrier is the energy needed to be

surpassed by the reactants so that they will be transformed into products.

 There are three factors that affect the rate of the reaction: 1) concentration,
2) temperature, and 3) particle size.
 Increasing the concentration or the temperature of the reaction leads to an
increase in reaction rate. On the other hand, decreasing the particle size increases
the reaction rate.

 Question 1
 The theory states that higher frequency of effective collisions results in a faster rate of
chemical reaction.

 Correct!
collision

 According to the collision theory, the rate of reaction is directly proportional to the frequency
of collisions.

 Next question
 Question 2
 Which of the following are the requirements for a reaction to occur?

 Incorrect!

 1similar geometry of colliding molecules4greater energy than the activation

energy
 Effective collision is needed for a reaction to occur. It is achieved when the reactant
molecules collide with proper orientation and with sufficient energy to surpass the activation
energy.

 Next question

 2equal energies of reacting species3properly oriented collisions

 Question 3
 Which of the following is another term for activation energy?

 Incorrect!

 2internal energy
 The activation energy is also called the energy barrier because it restricts the reactants from
becoming products.

 Next question

 1energy barrier3free energy4reaction enthalpy