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The Rate and Extent of Chemical Change

Rate from graphs, and the gradient of a tangent

  • 3 things to know
  • Chemistry Paper 2

Overview

Mean rate calculations, the shape of a volume against time graph and what a horizontal section means, drawing a tangent to find the rate at one moment, comparing rates by steepness and why a curve is steepest at the start, plotting graphs with a line of best fit, y = mx + c, gradients and intercepts of straight lines, and direct proportionality.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Process

State what a horizontal section on a graph of quantity of product against time tells you about the reaction.

Numbers

A reaction produces 30 cm³ of gas in the first 50 s. Calculate the mean rate over that period.

Process

Explain why a graph of product formed against time is steepest at the very beginning of a reaction.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Describe the shape of a graph of volume of gas produced against time for a reaction that slows down and then stops.

    Model answer

    It is steepest at the start, then curves and becomes less steep, and finally flattens into a horizontal line.

  2. 2

    A reaction produces 30 cm³ of gas in the first 50 s. Calculate the mean rate over that period.

    Model answer

    30 cm³ ÷ 50 s = 0.6 cm³/s.

  3. 3

    State what a horizontal section on a graph of quantity of product against time tells you about the reaction.

    Model answer

    The reaction has finished, so no more product is forming and the rate is zero.

  4. 4

    Describe how the rate of a reaction at one particular moment is found from a curve on a graph of quantity against time.

    Model answer

    A tangent is drawn to the curve at that time and the slope of the tangent is used as the rate at that moment.

  5. 5

    Explain why a tangent is needed to find the rate at a given time rather than simply reading a value off the curve.

    Model answer

    The steepness of the curve changes throughout the reaction, so only the slope at that point gives the rate at that moment rather than an average.

  6. 6

    Two reactions are followed on the same axes of gas volume against time. State how you can tell from the curves which reaction is faster at the start.

    Model answer

    The reaction whose curve is steeper at the start is the faster one.

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