Question

is it faster or slower. thanks for helping.

9. Indicate whether the following changes in reaction conditions will result in a faster or slower reaction. (a) Cooling down the reaction vessel. (b) Grinding a reactive solid into a powder. (c) Adding a catalyst.

Answer 1

(a) Cooling down the reaction vessel:

This condition will result in a slower reaction. This is because by cooling the reaction vessel, the number of collisions between the reactant molecules will get lessened which further make the reaction slower.

(b) Grinding a reactive solid into a powder.

This condition will result in a faster reaction. This is because by grinding the solid reactant into powder the surface area of reactant will increase thereby more collisions between the reactant molecules and hence the rate of reaction will increase.

(c) Adding a catalyst.

This condition will result in a faster reaction. This is because by adding a catalyst to the reaction mixture, the activation energy (energy required to the reactants to start a reaction) will decrease, thereby the rate of reaction will increase.