Chemical kinetics is the study of the rate at which reactions take place, i.e., how quickly a reaction happens and what happens to reactants and products.
Several factors can affect the rate of a reaction:
- Temperature: increased temperature means an increased average kinetic energy
- Concentration: a higher concentration means a greater chance for collisions. The initial concentration is always the highest rate.
- Particle size: decreased particle sizes increases the overall surface area, so the reaction will speed up.
- Pressure: for gaseous reactions, increased pressure will increase the rate since it compresses the gas, effectively increasing the concentration.
- Reactivity: more reactive elements increase the rate. Covalent reactions are slower compared to ionic reactions; this also depends on bond type.
- Catalysts: provides an alternate route for the reason that has a lower activation energy, meaning more particles will have values of kinetic energy greater than the activation energy.
See also
- Not to be confused with force kinetics, a branch of analysis in dynamics