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Kinetics

  • 3 subtopics
  • 27 things to know
  • Papers 2 and 3

What Kinetics covers

Kinetics is examined on Papers 2 and 3. The first half explains rate qualitatively through collisions and the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution; the second half makes it quantitative with rate equations, the Arrhenius equation, and what the rate-determining step reveals about a mechanism.

Where it is assessed

Papers 2 and 3

Organic and the physical chemistry behind it, then the synoptic paper.

Check the AQA specification ↗

The 3 subtopics

Each one has its own page. AQA AS Chemistry students sit this topic in the first year.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What must happen for a collision to lead to a reaction?

Evaluation

What happens to the rate when the concentration of a zero, first or second order reactant is doubled?

Who and when

What two conditions must be met for a reaction to occur according to collision theory?

Key term

What does a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution show?

Key term

What is represented on the x-axis of a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution curve?

Key term

How does increasing the concentration of a reactant affect collision frequency?

Key term

Why does increasing concentration increase the rate of a reaction?

Key term

What is the general form of a rate equation?

Key term

What is meant by the order of reaction with respect to a particular reactant?

Key term

What happens to the rate of reaction if the concentration of a zero order reactant is doubled?

Key term

What is the rate constant in a rate equation?

Key term

What are the units of the rate constant dependent upon?

Key term

What is the initial rates method used to determine?

Key term

In the initial rates method, what is measured at the very start of a reaction?

Key term

What is the continuous monitoring method used to determine?

Key term

In the continuous monitoring method, what is measured throughout the course of a reaction?

Key term

What is the rate-determining step of a reaction?

Key term

How does the rate-determining step relate to the overall rate equation?

Key term

What is meant by the term "activation energy"?

Key term

What is represented on the y-axis of a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution curve?

Key term

How does increasing the pressure of a gaseous reaction mixture affect collision frequency?

Key term

What is the overall order of a reaction?

Key term

What happens to the rate of reaction if the concentration of a first order reactant is doubled?

Key term

How do you determine the units of the rate constant for a given rate equation?

Key term

Why is the initial rate measured rather than the rate at a later time in the initial rates method?

Key term

What type of graph is plotted to determine the order of reaction using the continuous monitoring method?

Process

If a species appears in the rate equation, what can be concluded about its involvement in the mechanism?

Take Kinetics further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

  • Activation energy vs A catalyst

    Activation energy: the minimum energy a colliding pair must have for a reaction to occur. A catalyst: a substance that provides an alternative route of lower energy without being used up.

  • The order of reaction vs The rate constant

    The order of reaction: the power to which a reactant's concentration is raised in the rate equation. The rate constant: the proportionality constant linking the rate to those concentration terms.

  • A zero order reactant vs A first order reactant

    A zero order reactant: one whose concentration has no effect at all on the rate. A first order reactant: one for which doubling the concentration doubles the rate.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What two conditions must be met for a reaction to occur according to collision theory?

    Model answer

    Particles must collide with energy equal to or greater than the activation energy, and they must collide with the correct orientation.

  2. 2

    What is meant by the term "activation energy"?

    Model answer

    The minimum energy that colliding particles must have for a reaction to occur.

  3. 3

    Why do particles need to collide with a minimum amount of energy for a reaction to occur?

    Model answer

    This minimum energy is required to break the bonds in the reactants and initiate the reaction.

  4. 4

    What happens if colliding particles do not have energy equal to or greater than the activation energy?

    Model answer

    The particles bounce apart without reacting.

  5. 5

    Besides having sufficient energy, what other requirement must be met for a successful collision?

    Model answer

    The particles must collide with the correct orientation.

  6. 6

    Why is correct orientation important during a collision?

    Model answer

    The reactive parts of the molecules must come into contact for bonds to break and new bonds to form.

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Kinetics revision questions

Is Kinetics examined at AS in AQA Chemistry?
Yes. It sits in Papers 2 and 3, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.
What does Kinetics cover in AQA AS-Level Chemistry?
3 subtopics: collision theory and activation energy, maxwell-boltzmann distribution and the effect of temperature and effect of concentration and pressure, and catalysts. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is Kinetics organised?
By the AQA 7405 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

Every question in Kinetics, on a schedule.

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