114k views
5 votes
Why does increasing heat sometimes increase the reaction rate and sometimes decrease it

User El Padrino
by
8.0k points

1 Answer

2 votes

Answer:

it depends on the specific reaction and its activation energy

in some reactions, increasing the heat increases the kinetic energy of the molecules, which increases the force and frequency of their collisions, leading to an increased reaction rate.

in other reactions, increasing the heat can slow or stop the reaction due to the activation energy barrier. the increased temp causes the reactant molecule to vibrate more, resulting in them breaking up or rearranging in a way that is not productive to the reaction. if the reaction is exothermic, increasing the temp can cause the reaction to slow because the heat produced can counteract the effect of the increased temp.

User Barryvdh
by
7.8k points

No related questions found

Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.