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IB Chemistry: How fast? The rate of chemical change — Practice Questions & Answers

414 practice questions available for this topic — here are 10 with full answers and explanations.

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Practice questions with answers

1 Multiple choice · Easy

Increasing the temperature of a reaction generally increases its rate because particles:

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WhyAt higher temperature particles move faster and a greater proportion have energy above the activation energy, so there are more frequent and more energetic successful collisions.
2 Multiple choice · Easy

A catalyst increases the rate of a reaction by:

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WhyA catalyst provides an alternative reaction pathway with a lower activation energy, so more collisions are successful.
3 Multiple choice · Medium

According to collision theory, a collision will only lead to reaction if the particles have:

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WhyAn effective (successful) collision requires both sufficient energy (greater than or equal to the activation energy) and the correct orientation.
4 Multiple choice · Medium

Breaking a solid reactant into a powder increases the reaction rate because it:

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WhyPowdering increases the surface area of the solid exposed to the other reactant, so more collisions occur per second.
5 Multiple choice · Medium

On a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, raising the temperature shifts the peak:

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WhyAt higher temperature the distribution broadens and the peak shifts to higher energy (and lower height), so more molecules exceed the activation energy.
6 Multiple choice · Hard

Which method could be used to follow the rate of a reaction that produces a gas?

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WhyMeasuring the volume of gas collected (or the loss in mass) over time allows the rate of a gas-producing reaction to be monitored.
7 Fill in the blank · Easy

The minimum energy that colliding particles must have in order to react is called the energy.

Answer: activation / activation energy

WhyThe activation energy, $E_{a}$, is the minimum energy needed for a successful collision.
8 Fill in the blank · Medium

A substance that speeds up a reaction without being consumed overall is called a .

Answer: catalyst

WhyA catalyst speeds up a reaction by lowering the activation energy and is regenerated, so it is not used up.
9 Multiple choice · Medium

Why does increasing the surface area of a solid reactant increase the rate of reaction?

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WhyMore surface area exposes more particles, increasing the collision frequency.
10 Multiple choice · Easy

Collision theory states that a reaction occurs only when particles collide with sufficient energy and the correct

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WhyParticles must collide with energy at least equal to the activation energy and with the correct orientation.

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