GCSE Combined Science and

GCSE Triple Science

C8: Rates of Reaction

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 Contents
1 C8.1 Rate of reaction ................................................................................................................................ 3
2 C8.2 Measuring rates of reaction .............................................................................................................. 6
3 C8.3 Rate of reaction graphs ..................................................................................................................... 9
4 C8.4 Required Practical 11 ...................................................................................................................... 15
5 C6.5 Reversible reactions ........................................................................................................................ 19
6 Le Chatelier’s Principle: Higher ............................................................................................................... 22

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 C8.1 Rate of reaction
Learning objectives
After the topic, you should know:

 Know that, according to the collision theory, particles must collide with enough energy in order
to react
 Be able to explain how temperature, concentration, pressure (for reactions with gases) and
surface area to volume ratio affects the rate of reaction

KW: Collide, rate, frequency, particles

DO NOW: State the keyword for the following DRILL: True or False
1. Particles that are tightly packed 1. Solid particles are held together by strong
2. Particles that are randomly arranged forces of attraction
3. Particles that has the greatest potential 2. Condensation is the process where gases
energy turn into solids
4. Particles that can be compressed 3. Sublimation is the process where solids
turn into gases
4. Energy is lost to the surroundings during
condensation

What is rate of reaction

1 The rate of a chemical reaction is how fast reactants are changed into products. Reactions can go at all
2 sorts of different rates. Some reactions happen very quickly, while others happen slowly.

Examples of reactions:

 The rusting of iron: VERY SLOW REACTION

 A metal reacting with acid: MODERATE SPEED REACTION
 Explosion: VERY FAST REACTION

Factors that affect the rate of a reaction

1. TEMPERATURE: The higher the temperature, the faster the rate of reaction
2. CONCENTRATION (or PRESSURE OF GASES): The more concentrated the reactants (or the higher
the pressure), the faster the rate of reaction
3. SURFACE AREA: The larger the surface area, the faster the rate of reaction
4. CATALYSTS: Reactions with a catalyst can go faster than reactions without

Collision theory
3 The rate of a reaction can be explained by the collision theory, which states:

1. The greater the frequency of collisions of the reacting particles in a given time, the faster the
rate of reaction
2. The reacting particles need to collide with enough energy in order to be successful

4 Changing either of these factors will change the rate of reaction, meaning there are two ways to increase
5 the rates of reaction. One is to increase the frequency of collisions, so that the probability of a successful
6 collision (a collision that results in a reaction) increases. The other way is to increase the energy of the
7 collisions, so that more of the collisions are successful.

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 A: Increasing the frequency of collisions
8 Temperature: When the temperature is increased, the particles all move quicker. If they are moving
9 quicker, they are going to collide more often and more collisions (more frequent collisions) means a
10 faster rate of reaction

11 Concentration (or pressure): If a solution is made more concentrated (high concentration), it means
12 there are more particles of the reactants colliding with each other, and the collisions are more likely to
13 occur (more frequent collisions). For example, you are more likely to bump into someone when you are
14 in a crowd of people, than when there aren’t many people around!

15 Similarly, in a gas, increasing the pressure means the particles are closer together, so there will be more
16 frequent collisions. More frequent collisions means a faster rate of reaction

17 Surface area: If one of the reactants is a solid, then breaking it up into smaller EXAM TIP: The fastest rates
18 prices will increases its surface area to volume ratio. This means that, for the of reactions occurs with
19 same volume of solid, the particles around it in the solution will have more powders, pellets etc.
20 area to work on, so there will be more frequent collisions and the rate of because they have a large
21 reaction will be faster. surface area

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B: Increasing the energy of collisions

23 The effect of temperature on reaction rate can also be explained in terms of how much energy the
24 particles have when they collide. A higher temperature does not only increase the frequency of
25 collisions, it also increases the energy of the collisions, because its makes all the particles move faster.

26 Reactions only happen if the particles collide with enough energy. The minimum amount of energy that
27 particles must have in order to react is called the activation energy. At a higher temperature there will
28 be more particles colliding with enough energy to make the reaction happen.

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 Comprehension questions
1. Give an example of a reaction that is slow
2. Name the factors that affect the rate of reaction
3. What does the collision theory state?
4. What are the two ways to increase the rate of reaction?
5. Explain why sugar will dissolve quicker in hot water than in cold water
6. Why does increasing the surface area volume to ratio increase the rate of reaction
7. Define activation energy
8. Explain why a reaction will not take place if the energy of the reactants is lower than the
activation energy

Catalysts
29 Many chemical reactions involve the use of catalysts. Catalysts are substances that can speed up a
30 reaction, without being used up itself in the reaction.

31 Different catalysts are needed for different reactions, but they all work in the same way: By decreasing
32 the activation energy needed for the reaction to occur. And this is done by providing an alternative
33 pathway with a lower activation energy.

34 The figure on the right is an

35 exothermic reaction – the
36 products are at a lower
37 energy level than the
38 reactants. If the reaction
39 were endothermic, the
40 products would have a
41 higher energy than the
42 reactants. The activation
43 energy of the catalysed
44 reaction would still be
45 lower than the activation
46 energy of the uncatalysed
47 reaction.

48 Biological catalysts are known as enzymes. Like other catalysts, they work by lowering the activation
49 energy of a reaction.

Comprehension questions
1. What must happen for a reaction to occur between two particles
2. What is the definition of a catalyst?
3. How do catalysts increase the rate of a chemical reaction?
4. The table below shoes some rate of reaction data for the reactions of hydrochloric acid with
different forms of calcium carbonate:
Form of calcium Marble chips Crushed marble chips Powdered chalk
carbonate
Initial rate of reaction 0.6 1.2 5.6
(cm3/min)
a) Describe and explain these results
b) The rate of reaction for the crushed marble chips is double the rate for the marble chips.
State how the frequency of the collisions between the particles has changed between these
two reactions.
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 C8.2 Measuring rates of reaction
Learning objectives
After the topic, you should know:

 Know that the rate of a reaction can be calculated by dividing either the amount of reactant used
or the amount of product formed by time
 Know that the amount of a reactant or product may be measured in terms of mass in g or
volume in cm3, and that the units of rate may be given in g/s or cm3/s
 HIGHER: Know that the amount of a reactant or product may be given in moles and that the unit
of mate may be given in mol/s

KW: Reactant, product, time

DO NOW: State the keyword for the following
1. Name the factors that affect the rate of a
reaction
2. A collision that results in a reaction
3. Minimum amount of energy the particles
must have in order to react
4. A substance that speeds up a reaction
without getting used up itself
DRILL: True or False
1. In an endothermic reaction the products
are at a higher energy level than the
reactants
2. In an exothermic reaction the reactants
are at a lower energy level than the
products
3. Total energy change in a reaction =
bond breaking – bond forming
4. Bond breaking is endothermic

Calculating rates of reaction

1 You can find the rate of a reaction by measuring how quickly the reactants are used up or how quickly
2 the products are formed. Once you have taken these measurements, you can work out the mean
3 reaction rate by using the formula:

Mean rate of reaction = Quantity of reactant used OR product formed

Time

Units of rate
4 The units of rate will depend on the units used to measure the amount of product or reactant. For
5 example, when the product or reactant is a gas, you usually measure the amount in cm3. If it is a solid,
6 then you use grams (g). Time is often measured in seconds (s). This means that the units for rate may be
7 in cm3/s or g/s.

8 Higher: The amount of a product or reactant can be given in moles, so the units of rate could also be
9 mol/s

Measuring the formation of product

10 There are a few ways that you can measure the formation of products during a reaction, and so calculate
11 the rate.

12 PRECIPITATION: You can record the visual change in a reaction if the initial solution is transparent and
13 the product is a precipitate which clouds the solution (so it becomes opaque). You can observes a mark
14 through the solution and measure how long it takes for the mark to disappear. The faster the mark
15 disappears, the faster the reaction.

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16 CHANGE IN MASS: You can measure the speed of a reaction that produces a gas using a mass balance.
17 You place the reaction vessel on the balance, add your reactants to a conical flask and put a piece of
18 cotton wool in the neck. As the gas is released, the mass disappearing is easily measured.

19 VOLUME OF GAS GIVEN OFF: You can also measure the rate of a reaction that produces a gas by using a
20 gas syringe to measure the volume of gas given off. The more gas given off during a given time interval,
21 the faster the reaction.

22 Gas syringes usually give volumes to the nearest cm3, so they’re quite sensitive. Also, the gas is not
23 released into the room, which is useful if the gas produced is poisonous.

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Comprehension questions
1. What is the formula for calculating the mean rate of a reaction
2. Name the ways in which you could measure the formation of products
3. The equation below shows the reaction between sulfuric acid and sodium hydrogen carbonate:
H2SO4 (aq) + 2NaHCO3 (s) → Na2SO4 (aq) + 2H2O (l) + 2CO2 (g)
Briefly suggest a method for measuring the rate of this reaction
4. A reaction produced 4.3cm3 of carbon dioxide gas in the first 5.0 seconds. Calculate the rate of
this reaction in cm3/s
5. Some lithium metal was added to water and the change in mass was measured on a mass
balance. In the first 8.0 seconds, the mass of the reaction decreased from 34.31g to 32.63g.
Calculate the rate of this reaction in g/s

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 C8.3 Rate of reaction graphs
Learning objectives
After the topic, you should have:

 Be able to draw and interpret graphs showing the amount of product formed or reactant used
against time
 Be able to draw tangents to the curves of these graphs , and use the slopes of tangents to
describe the rate of reaction
 HIGHER: Be able to calculate the gradient of a tangent to one of these curves in order to find the
rate of a reaction

KW: Graph, tangent, gradient

DO NOW:
1. What variable is placed on the x axis on
graphs?
2. What variable is placed on the y axis on
graphs?
3. All graphs must be drawn with what two
items?
Graphs showing the rate of a reaction
1 If you plot the amount of product formed or the amount of reactant left in a reaction against time, you
2 will get a graph that will look like those below
DRILL: True or False
1. When your points are curved, you must
draw a straight line of best fit
2. When you are labelling your axis you
must include units
3. You will lose marks in your exam if you do
not give your graph a title
4. When you have categoric data, you must
draw a line graph

3 On a graph showing the amount of product or reactant against time, the rate of the reaction is shown by
4 the gradient (steepness) of the line. The steeper the line, the faster the rate (because it shows that
5 products are being formed, or reactants used up, more quickly).

6 Graphs of products formed or reactant left against time are not straight lines – they are curves tat start
7 steep, get shallower and then level off. This is because reactions start quickly, then slow down and
8 eventually stop. The point at which the reaction has finished is the point at which the line on the graph
9 goes flat.

Inside the reaction vessel

10 Reactions start quickly because at the beginning of the reaction there are lots of reactant particles
11 around, so collisions between them are very frequent. As the reaction progresses, the reactants get used
12 up so the number of react particles get less frequent and the reaction slows down. The reaction stops
13 when all of the particles from at least one of the reactants are used up

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 Comparing rates of reaction
14 You can compare the rate of a reaction performed under different conditions by plotting a series of lines
15 on one graph. All of the lines will be curves, but the exact shape of each curve will depend on the rate of
16 reaction and the mount of reactants that you started with.

 The fastest reaction will be the line with the steepest slope at the beginning. Also, the faster a
reaction goes, the sooner it finishes, which means that the line will become flat earlier.
 Reactions that start off with the same amount of react will give liens that finish at the same level
on the graph

A student added some

magnesium metal to an excess of
hydrochloric acid that has been
heated to 30oC. He recorded the
amount of gas formed at regular
intervals

The student then repeated the

experiment with the acid heated
to 40oC and then to 50oC. Finally,
he tried heating the acid to 50oC
17 and adding double the mass of
magnesium. The graph on the
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left shows his results
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20 LINE 1 shows the original (fairly slow) reaction at 30oC. The line on the graph is not very steep at the start
21 and it takes a long time to level off

22 LINE 2 and LINE 3 shoe the same reaction taking place at 40oC and at 50oC. The initial rate of the reaction
23 gets faster as the temperature increases, so the slope of the graph gets steeper too

24 LINES 1, 2 and 3 all end up at the same level because they produce the same amount of product

25 LINE 4 shows the reaction taking place at 50oC with double the mass of magnesium. It goes fast than the
26 original reaction. It also finishes at a higher level because more reactants were added to begin with

Comprehension questions
1. The graph below shows the same reaction performed at three different temperatures. All other
conditions were kept the same.
Which of the reactions (A, B, or C) was performed at the highest temperature. Explain your
answer

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 Mean rates from graphs
27 To find the mean rate from a graph of the amount of a substance against time, you work out the overall
28 change in the y-value (the amount of substance) and then divide this by the total time taken for the
29 reaction. You can also use the graph to find the mean rate of reaction between any two points in time,
30 for example

31 The graph to the right shows the volume of

32 gas released by a reaction, measured at
33 regular intervals. Find the mean rate of
34 reaction between 20s and 40s

Mean rate = change in y ÷ change in x

= (19cm3 – 15cm3) ÷ 20s

= 0.2cm3/s

Rates and tangents

35 In order to understand how fast the rate is at a particular pint in the reaction, you need to find out how
36 steep the curve is at that point. And to do that, you need to be able to draw a tangent to the curve.

37 A tangent is a straight line that touches the curve at a particular point without crossing it.

How to draw tangents

1. Use a ruler and sharp pencil

2. Place the ruler at the point at

the time on the curve specified
in the question

3. Adjust the ruler until the

space between the ruler and the
curve is equal on both sides of
the point

4. Draw a line along the

ruler to make a tangent

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38 By drawing various tangents along a curve of reaction, you can see how the rate changes over time

SLOP Practice

Some tangents to a curve of a graph showing the amount of reaction left against time are show below:
Put these tangents in order from the one showing that the rate is fastest, to the one showing that the
rate is slowest

Calculating rates from tangents: HIGHER TIER

39 The gradient (slope) of a graph tells you how quickly the dependent variable changes as you change the
40 independent variable. It is calculated using the following equation:

Gradient = change in y

change in x

41 Finding the gradient of a straight line graph is fairly simple.

42 This is what you do:

1. Pick two points on the line that are easy to read and a good distance apart.
2. Draw a line down from one of the points and a line across from the other to make a triangle

The line drawn down the side of the triangle is the change in y and the line across the bottoms is the
change in x

43 For a curved graph, the gradient is always changing. So it is more complicated to calculate the gradient at
44 a single point

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45 This is what you do:

1. Draw a tangent to the curve at that point

2. Find the gradient (using the equation)

46 For example,

Question: Find the rate at 40 seconds for the reaction shown in the graph below:

How to work it out:

47 1. Draw a tangent to the curve at the point where you
want to know the rate – here it is 40 seconds
2. Pick two point on the line that are easy to read. Use
48 them to calculate the gradient of the tangent in order
to find the rate
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Gradient = change in y ÷ change in x
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= (2.2 -1.3) ÷ (80-40)
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= 0.90 ÷ 40 = 0.023
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So, the rate of reaction at 40 seconds was 0.023g/s

Comprehension questions
1. A reaction took 200 seconds to finish and produced 24cm3 of gas
a) Which of the graphs below shows the volume of gas produced against time over the course of
this reaction?

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54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

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b) Under different conditions the reaction took 150 seconds to finish and produced 24cm3 of gas.
At the beginning of this reaction, would you predict the gradient of a graph of the amount of gas
produced against time to be steeper or shallower than the original reaction?

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2. The graph below shoes the change in concentration of a reactant against time during a reaction.
After 60 seconds, the reaction is complete
a) Find the mean rate of reaction of the entire reaction
b) HIGHER: Find the rate of reaction at 20 seconds

3. A student is investigating the rate of reaction between nitric acid and zin carbonate. The
equation for this reaction is shown below:

2HNO3 (aq) + ZnCO3 (s) → Zn(NO3)2 (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)

The student measured the volume of carbon dioxide produced by this reaction and recorded the
volume every 2 minutes for 20 minutes. The student’s results are shown on the graph below

a) Use the graph to estimate how long it took for all of the reactants to be used up in this reaction
b) HIGHER: Calculate the rate of reaction during the first 2 minutes of this reaction. Give your
answer in cm3/mins
c) Explain why the rate of this reaction decreased as the reaction progressed

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 C8.4 Required Practical 11
Learning objectives
After the topic, you should have:

 Investigated how changes in concentration affect the rates of reactions by a method involving
measuring the volume of a gas produced and a method involving a change in colour turbidity
 Developed a hypothesis

KW: Hypothesis, apparatus, volume, variables

DO NOW: You are going to investigate the effects DRILL: True or False
of different temperatures of water on the rate of 5. The dependent variable is the variable
dissolving a substance such as salt. In this you change
investigation, what is the: 6. The control variable is what you are
4. Independent variable measuring
5. Dependent variable 7. Zero error is when the piece of apparatus
6. Control variable does not start at zero
8. If there are any anomalies in your results,
you exclude them when calculating the
mean
Hypothesis
1 In your exam you may be required to create a hypothesis or identify what a hypothesis is

2 Scientists use hypotheses to explain things that they observe. Hypotheses can be tested to confirm
3 whether or not a variable has an effect on another variable, and what the relationship is between the
4 variables. Effectively it is what you expect the outcome of an experiment to be and the reason why you
5 expect it. It is easy to get mixed up between hypotheses and predictions.

How does the concentration of an acid affect the rate of reaction?

Activity 1 – by measuring the volume of gas produced

In this practical you will:

 React magnesium ribbon with different concentrations of hydrochloric acid

 Measure the volume of gas produced for each concentration.
 Use your results to work out how the rate of reaction is affected by the concentration of the
acid.

Apparatus
 Safety goggles
 100cm3 conical flask
 Rubber bung and delivery tube to fit conical flask
 A water trough
 Two 100cm3 measuring cylinders
 A clamp stand, boss and clamp
 A stop clock
 Magnesium ribbon cut into 3cm lengths
 Two different concentrations of dilute hydrochloric acid, 1.0mol/dm3 and 1.5mol/dm3

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Method

1. Measure 50cm3 of 1.0mol/dm3 hydrochloric acid using one of the measuring cylinders.
2. Pour the acid into the 100cm3 conical flask.
3. Fit the bung and delivery tube to the top of the flask.
4. Half fill the trough or bowl with water
5. Fill the other measuring cylinder with water.
6. Make sure it stays filled with water when you invert it into the water trough and that the
delivery tube is positioned correctly.

7. Add a single 3cm strip of magnesium ribbon to the flask, put the bung back into the flask as
quickly as you can, and start the stop clock.
8. Record the volume of hydrogen gas given off at suitable intervals (e.g. 10 seconds) in a table.
Continue timing until the volume of gas does not change.
9. Repeat steps 1–6 using 1.5mol/dm3 hydrochloric acid
10. Repeat each concentration two more times or obtain results from two other groups
11. Calculate mean (average). If there are any anomalous results, make sure you discard them when
calculating the mean

Comprehension questions
1. Plot a graph of your mean results.
2. Draw a line of best fit. The results should generate a curve not a straight line.
3. Plot the curve for both 1.0 mol/dm3 and 1.5 mol/dm3 hydrochloric acid on the same graph.
4. Use your graph to compare the rates of reaction with different concentrations of hydrochloric
acid with magnesium

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How does the concentration of sodium thiosulfate affect the rate of reaction?

Activity 2 – investigating measurement of rate of reaction using colour change or turbidity

In this practical you will:

 React different concentrations of sodium thiosulfate with hydrochloric acid
 Use a stop clock to time how long it takes for the mixture to become cloudy for each
concentration
 Use your results to work out how the rate of reaction changes as the concentration of the
sodium thiosulfate changes.

Apparatus
 Safety goggles
 40g/dm3 sodium thiosulfate solution
 Dilute hydrochloric acid
 10cm3 measuring cylinder
 100cm3 measuring cylinder
 100cm3 conical flask
 Printed black paper cross
 Stopclock

Method:
1. Measure 10cm3 sodium thiosulfate solution
and put it into the conical flask
2. Measure 40cm3 of water. Add the water to
the conical flask
3. This dilutes the sodium thiosulfate solution
to a concentration of 8g/dm3
4. Put the conical flask on the black cross
5. Measure 10cm3 of dilute hydrochloric acid
6. Put this acid into the flask. At the same
time swirl the flask gently and start the
stopclock
7. Look down through the top of the flask.
Stop the clock when you can no longer see
the cross.
8. Record the time it takes for the cross to disappear in your table. Record the time in seconds.
9. Repeat steps 1‒7 changing the concentration of sodium thiosulfate each time as below:
 Concentration 16g/dm3 = 20 cm3 sodium thiosulfate + 30cm3 water
 Concentration 24g/dm3 = 30cm3 sodium thiosulfate + 20cm3 water
 Concentration 32g/dm3 = 40cm3 sodium thiosulfate + 10 cm3 water
 Concentration 40g/dm3 = 50cm3 sodium thiosulfate + no water
10. Share results with two other groups. Record these results in the second and third blank columns
of your table.
11. Calculate mean (average). If there are any anomalous results, make sure you discard them when
calculating the mean

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Comprehension questions
1. Plot a graph and draw a smooth curved line of best fit
2. Describe the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable. What
were your control variables?
3. Compare your results with those of others in the class. Is there evidence that this investigation is
reproducible?
4. Evaluate the two methods that you have used to investigate the effect of concentration on rate
of reaction.

Application questions
A student is investigating how the rate changes over the course of the following reaction

2HCl (aq) + Mg (s) → MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)

She does this by measuring the volume of gas produced at regular intervals. Her results are shown in the
table below.
Time (s) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Volume 0.0 13.0 18.0 20.5 22.0 23.0 23.5 24.0 24.0 24.0
of gas
produced
(cm3)

a) State a piece of equipment the student could have used to accurately measure the volume of gas
produced
b) Plot a graph of the student’s results. Draw a line of best fit.
REMEMBER: Lines of best fit can also be curves
c) State the units of rate that would be given using these results
d) Find the mean rate of reaction for the whole reaction
e) HIGHER: Calculate the rate of reaction at 20 seconds
f) After 40 seconds, the reaction was half the rate it had been at 20 seconds. State how the
frequency of collisions changed between 20 seconds and 40 seconds

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 C6.5 Reversible reactions
Learning objectives
After the topic, you should know:

 That in reversible reactions, the products can react together to form the original reactant
 Know how reversible reactions are represented

KW: Reversible, equilibrium

DO NOW:
1. How do you calculate gradient (HIGHER
TIER)
2. How do you calculate mean rate
3. What is the name given to the straight
line that touches the curve at a particular
point
4. This line on a graph shows us that the
reaction has stopped
DRILL: True or False
1. You must draw your tangent free hand
2. You must use a sharp pencil when
drawing a tangent
3. When the slope is steep, its shows the
reaction is fast
4. When the slope of the tangent is less
steep, it shows the reaction is speeding
up

1 A reversible reaction is one where the products of the reaction can themselves react to produce the
2 original reactants. Reversible reactions can be represented like this:

A+B C+D

3 The double arrow means the reaction can go in either direction. The double arrow means it is reversible.
4 By changing the conditions of a reaction, the overall direction can be changed and the relative amount of
5 products and reactants can be altered, for example:

6 Ammonium chloride can thermally decompose (break down using heat) to form ammonia and
7 hydrogen chloride. This reaction can also run in reverse – ammonia and hydrogen chloride can reaction
8 with each other to form ammonium chloride

Ammonium chloride ammonia + hydrogen chloride

9 Another example of a reversible reaction, is the reaction between nitrogen and hydrogen. Nitrogen and
10 hydrogen can react together to form ammonia, AND ammonia can break down to form nitrogen and
11 hydrogen
FUN FACT!
Nitrogen + hydrogen ammonia
Ammonia is an important industrial
Equilibrium
product used to make fertilisers,
12 If a reversible reaction takes place in a closed system (when explosives and dyes! It is
13 a chemical reaction takes place in a container where the manufactured using the Haber
14 reactants and products CANNOT escape), then a state of process.
15 equilibrium will always be reached.

16 Equilibrium is when the amounts of the reactants and products reach a balance – their concentrations
17 (amount of substance in a given volume) stops changing.

FIRST STEP: As the reactants react in a reversible reaction, their concentrations fall – so the forward
reaction will begin to slow down.

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 SECOND STEP: As more and more products are made, their concentrations rise, the backward reaction
will speed up.

THIRD STEP: Soon the forward reaction will be going at exactly the same rate as the backward one – the
system has reached equilibrium

18 Both reactions are still happening, but the overall effect is nil because the forward and reverse reactions
19 cancel each other out.

20 When a reaction is at equilibrium it does NOT mean the amounts of reactants and products are equal:

21  If the position of equilibrium lies to the right, the concentration of products is greater than that
22 of the reactants
23  If the position of equilibrium lies to the left, the concentration of reacts is greater than that of
24 the products

Equilibrium
25 In reversible reactions, if the reaction endothermic in one direction, it will be exothermic in the other
26 direction. The energy absorbed by the endothermic reaction is equal to the energy released by the
27 exothermic reaction. For example:

28 The thermal decomposition of hydrated copper sulfate

29 Hydrated copper sulfate anhydrous copper sulfate +water

 If you heat blue hydrated copper sulfate crystals it drives the water off and leaves a while
anhydrous copper sulfate powder. This is endothermic
 If you then add a couple of drops of water to the white powder, you get blue crystals back again
and the energy is released to the surroundings. This is exothermic

30 The amount of energy that you have ti put in to drive all the water out of the hydrated copper sulfate is
31 the same as the amount of energy that is five out when you reform hydrated copper sulfate

32 Another example is the thermal decomposition of CaCO3:

CaCO3 CaO + CO2

33 The decomposition of calcium carbonate to form calcium oxide and carbon dioxide gas is an endothermic
34 reaction requiring constant heating.

35 If the temperature is reduced energy will be released to the surroundings, as the formation of calcium
36 carbonate is an exothermic reaction

37 The words ‘heat’ and ‘cool’ on the diagram below indicate the conditions need to change for the reaction
38 to run in the direction indicated, for example, heat causes the reaction to shift to the right

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 Endothermic
Heat

Cool Exothermic

Comprehension questions
1. What is a reversible reaction?
2. A reversible reaction involves the reactants A and B and the products C and D. Write an equation
to represent this reaction
3. Compare the rates of the forward and reverse reaction when equilibrium is reached
4. Hydrogen gas (H2 (g)) reacts with iodine vapour (I2 (g)) to form hydrogen iodide gas (HI (g)). Write a
chemical equation
5. A student carries out the endothermic thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate to form
calcium oxide and carbon dioxide in a closed system.
a) After a period of heating, the reaction has reached equilibrium. Describe what ‘equilibrium’
means
b) Explain whether the reverse reaction is exothermic or endothermic

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 Le Chatelier’s Principle: Higher
Learning objectives
After the topic, you should know:

 That Le Chatelier’s principle states that if the conditions are changed for a reversible reaction at
equilibrium, the position of equilibrium will alter to counteract those changes
 How changing temperature affects the yield of a reversible reaction

KW: Reversible, equilibrium, Le Chatelier’s Principle

DO NOW: State the key words for the following: DRILL: True or False
1. In the thermal decomposition of calcium 1. The thermal decomposition of calcium
carbonate, heating causes the position of carbonate is an endothermic process
equilibrium to shift to the… 2. The hydrating of anhydrous copper
2. In the thermal decomposition of calcium sulfate is an endothermic process
carbonate, cooling causes the position of 3. Endothermic reactions release energy to
equilibrium to shift to the… the surroundings
4. Exothermic reactions absorb energy from
the surroundings
1 Le Chatelier’s principle is the idea that if you change the conditions of a reversible reaction at
2 equilibrium, the system will try to counteract the change. This means the effect of any changes to a
3 system can be predicted.

4 So by altering the temperature, pressure or concentration of the reactants, you can alter the yield of the
5 reaction – making sure that you end up with more of the product you want (and less of the reactants)

Temperature
6 All reversible reactions are exothermic in one direction and endothermic in the other

 If you raise the temperature, the yield of the endothermic (absorbs energy) reaction will increase
and the yield of the exothermic reaction will decrease
 If you reduce the temperature, the yield of the exothermic (releases energy) reaction will
increase and the yield of the endothermic reaction will decrease

7 For example, the reaction to make sulfur trioxide is exothermic in the forward direction and endothermic
8 in the reverse direction

Exothermic →
2SO2 (g) + O2 (g) 2SO3 (g)

← Endothermic

 If you increase the temperature, the endothermic reverse reaction will be favoured and absorb
the extra energy. This would result in a higher yield of SO2 and O2
 If you decrease the temperature, the exothermic forward reaction will be favoured and release
more energy. This would result in a higher yield of SO3 – The product that you want

Pressure
9 Changing the pressure affect reaction where the reactants and products are gases. Many of these
10 reactions have a greater volume on one side (either of products or reactants).

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11 Greater volume means there are more gas molecules on that side of the equation and less volume
12 means there are fewer gas molecules

 Raising the pressure favours the reaction which produces less volume (the fewest number of gas
molecules)
 Lowering the pressure favours the reaction which produces more volume (the greatest number
of gas molecules)

13 For example, in the reaction to make hydrogen gas, there are two gas molecules on the left hand side of
14 the equation and four on the right

CH4 (g) + H2O (l) CO (g) + 3H2 (g)

 If you increase the pressure, the reverse reaction will be

favoured because the left hand side has fewer gas EXAM NOTE:
Changing the pressure ONLY affects
molecules than the right. This would result in higher yield of
the equilibrium position of reactions
CH4 and H2O
where some of the reactants or
 If you decrease the pressure, the forward reaction will be products are gases
favoured because the right hand side has more gas
molecules than the left. This would result in a higher yield of CO and H2 – The products that you
want

Concentration
15 If you change the concentration of either the reactants or the products, the system will no longer be at
16 equilibrium. So the system will respond to bring itself back to equilibrium again

 If you increase the concentration of a reactant the system tried to decrease it by making more
products
 If you decrease the concentration of a product the system tried to increase it again by reducing
the amount of reactants

17 For example, in the reaction between nitrogen and hydrogen, they can react together in reversible
18 reaction to form ammonia through the Haber process

N2 (g) + 3H2 (g) 2NH3 (g)

 If the concentration of N2 or H2 is increased, the forward reaction will be favoured so more NH 3 is

produced
 If NH3 is removed, lowering the concentration, again , the forward reaction will be favoured so
more NH3 is produced

19 In summary, the idea here is that when you make any change to the conditions, the reaction will try to
20 counteract it. In other words, it will do whatever it can to get the temperature or pressure or
21 concentration back to what it was before changes were made.

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Comprehension questions
1. If you were to decrease the temperature of a reversible reaction, is the endothermic or
exothermic reaction favoured?
2. In a reversible reaction involving gases, what effect does increasing the pressure have on the
position of equilibrium?
3. What happens to the position of equilibrium if you decrease the concentration of the products in
a reversible reaction
4. Ammonium chloride decomposes when heated when heated to 338OC to form ammonia and
hydrogen chloride. On cooling the reaction can be reversed. The equation for the reaction is
shown below:
Endothermic →
NH4Cl (s) NH4 (g) + HCl (g)

← Exothermic
a) If you lower the temperature to 250OC, which reaction will be favoured?
b) Which compound(s) will have a higher yield as a result?
c) If you raise the temperature to 400OC, which reaction will be favoured?
d) Which compound(s) will have a higher yield as a result?

5. Sulfur dioxide reacts with oxygen to produce sulfur trioxide:

2SO2 (g) + O2 (g) 2SO3 (g)

a) Which side of the equation has more volume?

b) State the effect of increasing the pressure on the yield of SO3
c) State the effect of decreasing the pressure on the yield of SO3

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