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Chemistry · Ch 3 — Chemical Kinetics

Factors Influencing Rate of a Reaction

3.2

Factors Influencing Rate of a Reaction

What decides how fast a reaction goes

The rate measured for a reaction is not a fixed number attached to that reaction alone — it depends on the experimental conditions under which the reaction is carried out. The three conditions that govern the observed rate are:

  • the concentration of the reactants (or, for a gaseous reactant, its pressure),
  • the temperature at which the reaction is run, and
  • the presence of a catalyst.

How this is unpacked …