Question

Why does increasing the temperature affect the rate constant for a reaction?

Answer 1

Increasing the temperature of a chemical reaction usually results in a higher rate of reaction. This is because the reactant particles move faster, resulting in a greater frequency of collisions and more effective collisions that surmount the activation energy barrier.

Step-by-step explanation:

Increasing the temperature of a chemical reaction usually results in a higher rate of reaction. When the reactant particles are heated, they move faster and faster. This results in a greater frequency of collisions. A more important effect of the temperature increase is that the collisions occur with a greater force, and are thus more likely to surmount the activation energy barrier and go on to form products. Increasing the temperature of a reaction increases the number of effective collisions between reacting particles, so the reaction rate increases.

Answer 2

Increasing the temperature increases the kinetic energy of reactant molecules. Therefore they move around more and they move faster. As a result, collisions between reactant molecules are more frequent and the energy at which they collide is also sufficient enough to overcome the activation energy of the reaction. Hence a greater proportion of reactant molecules successfully collide, leading to an increase in the rate of reaction.