Why do we slow down reactions?

Reactions usually slow down as time goes on because of the depletion of the reactants. The rate constant, or the specific rate constant, is the proportionality constant in the equation that expresses the relationship between the rate of a chemical reaction and the concentrations of the reacting substances.

Which would slow down a reaction?

The presence (and concentration/physical form) of a catalyst (or inhibitor). A catalyst speeds up a reaction, an inhibitor slows it down.

Why are reactants added slowly?

You might think that chemists would always want to speed up reactions to save time. However, some reactions give off so much heat as they occur that they could damage the reaction container or burn the desired product, so the reactants are added slowly, in small amounts, to slow down the release of heat.

Why some reaction are fast and some are slow?

Concentration: If there is more of a substance in a system, there is a greater chance that molecules will collide and speed up the rate of the reaction. If there is less of something, there will be fewer collisions and the reaction will probably happen at a slower speed.

What are two ways to slow a reaction down?

How can we speed up or slow down a reaction?

• The rate of a chemical reaction can be speeded up or slowed down by changing the temperature.
• Other ways of changing the rate of the Chemical Reactions are, by stirring them and/or changing the size or concentration of the reactants.

Why is it important to know how fast or how slow a reaction would occur?

Firstly it’s important to understand what a rate of reaction is. For example, a slow rate of reaction might indicate that not many of the collisions are happening with the right amount of force to break the reactants chemical bonds, so the product isn’t made as quickly.

What word describes fast or slow a reaction?

The phrase ‘rate of reaction’ means ‘how fast or how slow is the reaction’ or ‘the speed of the reaction’. It can be measured as the ‘rate of formation of product’ (e.g. collecting a gaseous product in a syringe) or the ‘rate of removal of reactant’.

What factors affect the speed of a reaction?

The factors that affect reaction rates are:

• surface area of a solid reactant.
• concentration or pressure of a reactant.
• temperature.
• nature of the reactants.
• presence/absence of a catalyst.

Why is it important to know the rate of reaction?

Firstly it’s important to understand what a rate of reaction is. Since reactions require the molecules to overcome a particular energy barrier to collide successfully, the rate of reaction often indicates whether the conditions are adequate for this to happen.

Why is it important to know how fast or slow a reaction would occur?