Collision Theory

And Activation
Energy

Collision theory
According to the collision theory, atoms, ions,

and molecules can react to form products

when they collide, provided they have enough
kinetic energy.
Not every collision between reactants results
in a reaction.
The minimum amount of energy which must
be possessed by the reacting molecules to
make effective collisions is called threshold
energy.
The excess energy that reactant molecules
must acquire to reach the threshold energy

 The rates of the reactions vary depending

upon the amount of energy needed to

reach the threshold energy.
The reactants must collide with sufficient
energy to break the bonds in the reactants
and begin to form the bonds in the
products.
In order for a reaction to occur a collision
must be effective.
Effective collision:
Correct orientation of reactants
Sufficient collision energy
Reacting particle must collide with the
proper orientation relative to one
another or correct collision geometry.

PROPER ORIENTATION

Proper orientation;
Effective collision

Improper orientation;
Ineffective collision

When an effective collision takes place, an

intermediate is formed which has a very high

energy level. This is called the activated
complex which is formed if the reacting
molecules possess the sufficient amount of
energy required for them to react i.e. the
activation energy or the threshold energy.
Due to the high energy of the activated
complex, it is highly unstable and quickly
disintegrates to give molecules of the required
product.

EXOTHERMIC REACTION

Factors affecting the rate of

collisions:
With greater surface area, more collisions can

occur.
If the concentration of the reactants
increases, more collisions will occur per
second. Therefore, the rate of reaction
increases.

Collision Energy is dependent on

the kinetic energy of the system.

Temperature is a measure of the
average kinetic energy of the
particles.
In most reactions, only a fraction
of the collisions have enough
energy for the reaction to occur.

The dotted line represent the activation

energy.
The shade part of the graph indicates the
collisions with energy that is equal to or
greater than the activation energy. This graph
resembles the Maxwell curve for velocity of
particles at a particular temperature.

 At both temperatures a relatively small fraction of

collisions have sufficient kinetic energy the activation

energy to result in a reaction.
As the temperature of a sample increases, the fraction
of collisions with sufficient energy to cause a reaction
increases significantly.
For many reactions, the rate roughly doubles for every
10oC rise in temperature.

Exothermic Reaction

Endothermic reaction

The top of the activation energy

barrier on a potential energy diagram

represents the transition state or
change over point of the reaction.
The chemical species that exist at the
transition state is referred to as the
activated complex (neither reactant
or product-has partial bonds and
unstable).
Kinetic energy of reactants converts
into potential energy as reactants
collide i.e. the energy of the activated
complex. (Law of conservation of
energy)

http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=mBTSwJnZ6Sk
Chemistry 11.1 collision theory