CHM 111
Chapter 14 study guide / learning objectives
Chapter 14 in your textbook deals with kinetics - the study of the rate of chemical reactions. You will be introduced to the concept of the rate law - an equation which describes how the speed of a chemical reaction depends on temperature and the amount of reactants (or other substances) present. You will also (mainly in the laboratory portion of the course) look at the methods chemists use to get information about the rate of reaction. In lecture, we will focus more on the qualitative aspects of kinetics., but you should be able to perform basic rate calculations. In the textbook, we will focus primarily on sections 14.1 through 14.6, and will briefly discuss some material from section 14.9.
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
[Definitions / Terminology]
Define terms associated with the reaction rate: kinetics, rate of reaction, rate law, rate constant, reaction order, catalyst
Define terms associated with theories on how reactions occur: collision theory, transition state theory, activation energy, transition state, Arrhenius equation
[Rate laws]
Describe the terms in the rate law.
Explain how the rates of disappearance of a reactant relate to the rates of appearance of product.
Explain what factors influence the rate constant.
Explain what effect the reaction order has on the rate of reaction.
[Influencing the reaction rate]
List and describe the four factors that influence the reaction rate.
[Collision theory]
Describe the conditions necessary for a reaction between two species to occur in collision theory.
Explain how collision theory supports the notion that nearly all reactions proceed faster at higher temperatures.
[Transition state theory]
Draw and/or label an energy diagram showing the transition state, reactants and products, the activation energy, and the energy of reaction.
Using transition state theory, explain why both endothermic and exothermic reactions proceed faster at higher temperatures.
Explain how reaction rate depends on temperature using the Arrhenius equation.
[Catalysis]
Explain (using an energy diagram and transition state theory) how catalysts work
Describe the difference between a homogeneous catalyst and a heterogeneous catalyst and give examples of each.
[Practice exercises from the textbook]
14.25, 14.29, 14.31, 14.33, 14.37, 14.43, 14.47
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