Why does increasing the temperature increase the rate of a reaction?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. More particles have energy equal to or above the activation energy, and they collide more often
- Step 1: At higher temperature the particles move faster, so collisions are more frequent.
- Step 2: A larger fraction of collisions have at least the activation energy, so more of them are successful.
Answer
More particles have energy equal to or above the activation energy, and they collide more often.
Why not the others: The activation energy of the reaction becomes lower: temperature does not change the activation energy; a catalyst does. The particles become larger and so collide more often: particle size does not change with temperature. The concentration of the reactants increases: heating does not change the concentration of a solution.
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