Chemical Kinetics

• The study of the rates and mechanisms of

chemical reaction.

• Rate of reaction - the amount of chemical

change that takes place in a given interval of
time.
 The Rate of Chemical Reaction

• The rate at which reactants are consumed or

products are produced in a chemical reaction
• Will a reaction occur?
Collision Theory
for a reaction to occur:
-reactant particles must collide
-collision must have a certain minimum
amount of energy: Activation Energy
-reactants may require a specific orientation
 Potential Energy Diagrams

Activation Energy, Avg. Energy of Products,

E Ea PEP

DE energy
absorbed during the
reaction

Avg. Energy of Reactants, PER Endothermic Reaction

reaction progress
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 Rate Law
For General Reaction:

aA + bB à cC + dD

The rate law generally has a form

Rate = k[reactant 1]m[reactant 2]n

For the reaction above,

Rate = k[A]a[B]b

where k in the rate law is called the rate constant

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 Order of Reaction
• The sum of all the exponents of the
concentration terms in the rate equation
 Sample Problem 1
How long will it take the carbon monoxide (CO)
concentration in room to decrease by 99 percent after
the source of carbon monoxide is removed and the
windows are opened? Assume the first order rate
constant for removal (due to dilution by incoming clean
air) is 1.2/hr. No chemical reaction occurring.
 Half-Life (t½)
• It is defined as the time required for the
concentration of a chemical to decrease by
one-half (for example, [C] = 0.5[C]0).
 Sample Problem 2
Subsurface half-lives for benzene, TCE, and
toluene are listed as 69, 231, and 12 days,
respectively. What are the first-order rate
constant for all three chemicals.
 Sample Problem 3
• After a Chernobyl nuclear accident, the concentration of 137Cs
in milk was proportional to the concentration of 137Cs in the
grass that cows consumed. The concentration in the grass was,
in turn, proportional to the concentration in the soil. Assume
that the only reaction by which 137Cs was lost by soil was
through radioactive decay and the half-life for this isotope is
30 years. Calculate the concentration of 137Cs in cow’s milk
after 5 years if the concentration shortly after the accident was
12,000 bequerels (Bq) per liter. (Note: A bequerel is a measure
of radioactivity; 1 bequerel equals 1 radioactive disintegration
per second.)
 Effect of Temperature on Rate Constants

Arrhenius equation
k = Ae –(Ea/RT)
Where:
A – preexponential factor (same as k)
Ea – activation energy (kcal/mole)
R - gas constant
T - temperature (K)
 Sample Problem 4
The rate constant for carbonaceous
biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD) at
20oC is 0.1/day. What is the rate constant at
30oC? Assume Ea = 1.072.
Thank you J

Dr. Yvonne Ligaya F. Musico 13