Unit 2 Kinetics
Introduction
Baking a cake and editing pictures for social media both take a sequence of steps. Some steps take longer time than others. Chemical reactions can also occur in a similar manner, involving stepwise interactions at the molecular level. Interestingly, biological cells use proteins called enzymes to speed up biochemical reactions that would otherwise proceed too slowly. In this Unit, we are interested in describing how quickly chemical reactions occur and how we can modify the speed of chemical reactions.
Unit Learning Objectives
- Define and calculate the rate of a reaction, the rate of reactant consumption, and the rate of product appearance.
- Describe how reactant concentration, temperature, and catalysts affect reaction rate.
- Explain how a reaction mechanism contributes to the rate law and the overall equation.
Unit 2 Sections
2.4 Temperature and Reaction Rate
Each section has a reading portion, self-check question, and a set of practice exercises with solutions. This course has a strong emphasis on solving problems by applying concepts from the reading portions. Thus, working through the self-check questions and practice exercises is important for learning how to apply concepts in chemistry. The supplementary resources and supplementary activities within the sections are not for marks but provide alternative perspectives to enhance understanding of the course material.
Unit 2 Assignment (on Moodle)
The Unit 2 Assignment includes concepts from all the sections of the unit. There may be a mix of written response and multiple-choice questions. The assignment is worth 11% of the course grade.
