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1. Energy change in reactions (exothermic and endothermic reactions)

Enthalpy (H)
Enthalpy is the total chemical potential energy in a chemical system.

Reaction heat/enthalpy change (ΔH)

Reaction heat is the net change in the potential
energy of the system.

Exothermic reactions
Exothermic reactions are reactions which transform chemical potential energy
into thermal energy.

Endothermic reactions
Endothermic reactions are reactions which transform thermal energy
in chemical potential energy.

• Exothermic reactions:
o Heat is released from the system to the environment.
o A test tube will feel warmer if an exothermic reaction occurs inside the test
tube. Reaction mixture's temperature increases, because the reaction releases
energy. (When one looks at the macroscopic level).
o Example of exothermic reactions: Combustion reactions
o When bonds form (forces of attraction between atoms/ions in a bond), energy
is given off and thus it is an exothermic reaction. The stronger the bond that
forms, the more energy is released.
o ΔH < 0 means the system's giving off heat so that the net change in potential
energy of the system becomes less; thus exothermic. (This is when one could
see within the reaction – microscopic level).
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• Endothermic reactions:
o Heat is absorbed by the system from the environment.
o A test tube will feel colder if an endothermic reaction occurs inside the test
tube. The temperature of the reaction is lowered, because the energy is used
by the reaction. (When one looks at the macroscopic level).
o When bonds break (forces of attraction between atoms/ions in a compound),
energy is given off and thus it is an endothermic reaction. The stronger the
bond that forms, the more energy is released.
o ΔH > 0 means the system absorbs heat so that the net change in potential
energy of the system becomes more; thus endothermic. (This is when one
could see within the reaction – microscopic level).

2. Activation energy

Activation energy
Activation energy is the minimum energy required to initiate a chemical reaction.
OR
Activation energy is the energy required to form the activated complex.

Activated complex
Activated complex is a high-energy, unstable, temporary transition state between
the reactants and the products.

• For a reaction to occur between stable molecules, a certain minimum amount of

energy must be absorbed to overcome and break the bonds that hold the particles
together in the reactant compounds. This amount of energy is needed to separate the
reactants' separate atoms or ions so that they can rearrange to form new bonds, and
therefore products.
• The energy of the activated complex is the barrier that prevents some reactions from
happening. The reactant particles therefore need activation energy to overcome the
energy barrier between the reactant state and the final product state.
• Stable molecules must pass through an unstable, high energy intermediate phase
edge before conversion to products. This particular arrangement of atoms, possessing
maximum chemical potential energy, is called an activated complex.
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• Activation energy is therefore the energy absorbed by the reactants to:

o Breaking existing interatomic bonds.
o Turning particles into an activated complex.
• Fast reactions have low activation energy and slow reactions require a lot of activation
energy.
• Spontaneous reactions occur when the reactants have enough energy to allow the
reaction to begin spontaneously itself.
• Non-spontaneous reactions occur when the reactants themselves do not have enough
energy to initiate a reaction, and additional energy is required in the form of light
energy or heat energy.
Different ways a comparison can be written to show whether it is
exothermic or endothermic:

• Potential energy profile graphs:

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Catalyst
Catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of the reaction, but
remaining unchanged at the end of the reaction.

• A positive catalyst:
o Lowers the activation energy of the reaction
o Does not change permanently during the chemical reaction
o Does not change the energy of the reactants and the products, so ΔH remains
the same
• Heterogeneous catalysts are not in the same phase state as the reactants.
• Homogeneous catalysts are in the same phase state as the reactants.

• The catalyst temporarily binds to the reactant molecules, thus weakening the existing
interatomic forces.
• Less energy is therefore needed to break the bonds in the reactant molecules.
• The activation energy decreases and the reaction rate increases.
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3. Rate of reactions

Reaction rate
Reaction rate is the change in concentration per unit time of either a reactant or
product.

• According to the syllabus, you should be able to calculate average reaction

rate with the upper formulas, with the suitable units, in terms of change in
mass(g.s-1), volume(dm3.s-1) or number of moles per unit of time ( mol.s-1).
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Average reaction rate

The change in concentration of reactants/products divided by the total time.

Instantaneous reaction rate

The reaction rate at a specific point in time is equal to the gradient of the tangent
at that point.

• Factors affecting the rate of a chemical reaction:

o Nature of reacting substances (reactants)
o Surface area of a solid
o Concentration of a solution
o Pressure of a gas
o Temperature
o Catalyst
Catalyst
Catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of the reaction, but
remains unchanged at the end of the response.

Catalysts in common use:

o Vanadium (V) pentoxide
o Iron or iron (ll) oxide
o Nickel
o Manganese (IV) oxide
o Catalysts that are usually made of platinum, palladium and/or rhodium.
o Cu accelerating Zn's reaction with an acid.
o Concentrated H2S04 that catalyses the reaction between an alcohol and a carboxylic acid.

Collision theory
The collision theory is a model that explains that a reaction only
will continue when reagent particles collide effectively.

Effective/Successful Collision
Effective collision is one in which the colliding reagent particles:
1. Have the correct orientation
2. Have sufficient energy (kinetic energy is equal to or greater than
activation energy)
-
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• Reaction rate is directly proportional to the number of effective collisions per unit
time:
o The rate at which reactants react with each other is directly proportional to
the number of effective collisions (right orientation and sufficient kinetic
energy) that occur per second.
o Macroscopic change, such as loss of mass or volume of gas produced per
unit time, can be used as a measure of reaction rate since it is impossible to
count the number of effective collisions that occur.
o The more effective collisions occur per unit of time (more particles have the
right orientation with sufficient kinetic energy to effectively collide and
react), the faster the reactants can react and the higher the reaction rate.

Factors affecting the rate of reactions in terms of collision theory:

• Nature of reactants:
o Strong acids and bases react faster than weak acids and bases because
the strong acids and bases have more particles with the right orientation
and sufficient kinetic energy for more effective collisions to occur, thereby
increasing the reaction rate as well.
o Smaller molecules react faster as the number of collisions colliding at the
correct position is proportionately more. The smaller molecules can also
move faster (more kinetic energy) which also increases the reaction rate.
• Concentration of a solution:
o When the concentration of a reactant increases:
▪ Increase the number of reactant particles per unit volume in the
container
▪ Do more collisions occur between the reactant particles per unit time
▪ Increase the possibility of effective collisions with the correct
orientation and enough kinetic energy – thus more effective
collisions per unit time
▪ If there are more effective collisions, the reaction rate will increase.

• Pressure of a gas:
o The higher the pressure, the more gas particles per content measure.
o So there are more collisions per unit of time.
o The number of successful collisions per unit time will be higher and the rate
of response therefore faster.
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• Temperature:
o The higher the temperature, the more the average kinetic energy of the
particles, which means that the particles move faster.
o Therefore:
▪ If particles move faster it means more collisions per unit time.
▪ Particles with higher kinetic energy are also more likely to react
when they collide as they have enough energy for the reaction to
take place.
o When the temperature of the reaction increases, the average rate of the
reaction also increases.

• Surface area of a solid:

o When the solid is divided finer (crushed or pulverized):
▪ Increase the exposed contact surface
▪ Do more per-unit collisions occur between the reactant particles
▪ Increase the possibility of effective collisions with the correct
orientation and enough kinetic energy
▪ Thus, the reaction rate increases.

• Catalyst:
o If an appropriate catalyst is present in a reaction system:
▪ Lowers the activation energy of the reaction
▪ Are there more reactant particles with enough kinetic energy to
overcome the lower activation energy
▪ Does the number of collisions increase with enough kinetic energy
▪ Increase the number of effective collisions
▪ Thus, the reaction rate increases
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Maxwell Boltzmann distribution Curve:

o In a reaction mixture, the energy of the individual molecules varies widely.

The kinetic energy and speed of the individual molecules cannot be
determined.
o The area under the graph (from the graph to the x-axis) represents the
total number of particles (molecules) of the reactants in the reaction.
o The curve passes through the origin – so there is no one particle and no
energy.
o At high kinetic energy (on the right side of the graph), the curve tends
towards the horizontal x -axis but never crosses or touches the x-axis.
o The position of the highest point on the curve indicates the most likely
energy. This means that most particles possess this amount of energy.
o Remember that a molecule must have energy that is greater than the
activation energy and the right orientation, for the reaction to take place. So
the particles in the section labeled will be able to participate in the reaction.

o Increasing the temperature of a reaction mixture increases the average

kinetic energy of the particles. This is depicted on the chart on the next
page. A larger proportion of particles can now react, making the reaction
faster. With the increased movement of the molecules, the chances that the
molecule will have the right orientation also increase.
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o The catalyst provides an alternative set of steps for the reaction. We

refer to an alternative route. The route used by the catalyst requires less
activation energy and is therefore faster. More particles will therefore
now have more energy than the new lower activation energy and thus
the reaction will occur faster. This is depicted in the following chart.

You have to be able to draw and explain the MAXWELL graphs.