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Can you recall? · Q1

Q.What is the influence of particle size of reacting solid on rate of a chemical reaction ?

Maharashtra MsbshseTextbookSubjectiveImportance★★★★★est
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✓ Free question

Step 1. Only the particles of a solid actually exposed at its surface can collide with the other reactant (e.g. a gas or solution) and take part in the reaction; particles buried inside the solid cannot react until the outer layers are gone.

Step 2. Breaking a solid into smaller particles dramatically increases its total surface area for the same mass -- more surface is exposed to the other reactant.

Step 3. A larger exposed surface area means more collisions between reactant species occur per unit time, so the observed rate of reaction increases as particle size decreases.

✓Final answer

Finer particle size increases the reacting solid's surface area, which increases the rate of collision (and hence reaction rate); a powdered solid reacts much faster than a lump of the same mass.

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