Effect of Temperature on Reaction Rate (AQA AS Chemistry)

Temperature & Rate of Reaction

• Increasing the temperature of the reaction mixture increases the rate of reaction in the following two ways:
  • At higher temperatures, the particles are moving faster, so collide more frequently. A higher number of collisions in total mean a higher number of successful collisions
  • At higher temperatures, a higher proportion of the molecules have the activation energy or more. This means that a higher proportion of collisions are successful

An increase in temperature causes an increase in the kinetic energy of the particles. The number of collisions increases and the proportion of successful collisions increases