How Temperature and Concentration Change Reactions

1. Effects of Temperature:

   • Basic Idea: When the temperature goes up, reactions usually happen faster. If the temperature increases by 10 degrees Celsius, the speed of the reaction can about double.
   • Exothermic Reactions: For reactions that release heat, higher temperatures can push the reaction backwards, leading to less product being made.
   • Endothermic Reactions: For reactions that take in heat, higher temperatures help make more products, pushing the reaction forward.

2. Effects of Concentration:

   • Impact on Speed: When we have gases or solutions, increasing the concentration means there are more particles to collide with each other. This leads to more reactions. For example, in a reaction described as $R$ related to concentration $[A]$, the rate ($R$) depends on concentration raised to a power ($n$), which tells us how the reaction behaves.
   • Zero Order Reactions: Changes in concentration do not affect the rate; $R$ stays the same.
   • First Order Reactions: The rate changes directly with concentration; if you double $[A]$, the rate doubles too.
   • Second Order Reactions: The rate is linked to the square of the concentration. So if you double $[A]$, the speed of the reaction goes up by four times.

3. In Summary: Different reactions react differently to changes in temperature and concentration. In general, higher temperatures and concentrations make reactions faster, but some reactions may act in special ways because of their heat and speed properties.