Rates of Reaction Quiz

The rate of reaction is a measure of how quickly reactants are turned into products, this can be determined by measuring the mass, volume or concentration of reactants or products. Due to the Law of Conservation of Mass, every chemical reaction will have the same mass going in as comes out, whether or not it is easy to determine where this mass has gone. 

Temperature is actually just a measure of the motion of particles. Higher temperatures mean faster-moving particles which in turn means more frequent and more energy-intensive collisions. Reactions require collisions to provide the activation energy needed to start a reaction. 

The relationship between temperature and rates of reaction is why humans and other mammals have a relatively high body temperature. We are endotherms, organisms which maintain constant body temperature regardless of the environmental temperature. Without this higher body temperature, the reactions we need for maintaining our bodies would be too slow. Reptiles and other cold-blooded animals (ectotherms) need to take in energy from the environment to heat their bodies, before this they can be slow-moving and vulnerable to predation.

Surface area to volume ratio is an important concept in biology and chemistry as it affects the rate of reactions. The larger the surface area in comparison to the total volume of an object, the faster a reaction will take place. This is explained by the increased potential for reactions that occur on the surface of objects.

By increasing the surface area, more reactions may take place. Very small objects have a much larger surface area to volume ratio, similarly, some shapes such as the honeycomb shape have a very high surface area to volume ratio. This honeycomb shape is used for catalytic converters which reduce the amount of harmful air pollution emitted by cars, by having this shape, more pollutants are removed for every unit area of the catalytic converter. 

We hope you enjoy this rates of reaction quiz and if you want to learn more about reactions, check out our Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions Quiz.