Which factor, when increased, typically increases the rate of a chemical reaction by providing more energy to the particles?

Which factor, when increased, typically increases the rate of a chemical reaction by providing more energy to the particles?

• A. Concentration
• B. Temperature
• C. Surface Area
• D. Pressure

Answer: (B)

Increasing temperature raises the average kinetic energy of the particles, shifting the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution toward higher speeds. This means more particles have energy equal to or greater than the activation energy, so a larger fraction of collisions are successful. As a result the rate constant effectively increases and the reaction proceeds faster. Other factors affect rate by changing how often collisions occur or how many contact opportunities exist (concentration and surface area, for example), or by increasing collision frequency in gases (pressure), but they don’t directly give particles more energy per collision.

Increasing temperature raises the average kinetic energy of the particles, shifting the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution toward higher speeds. This means more particles have energy equal to or greater than the activation energy, so a larger fraction of collisions are successful. As a result the rate constant effectively increases and the reaction proceeds faster. Other factors affect rate by changing how often collisions occur or how many contact opportunities exist (concentration and surface area, for example), or by increasing collision frequency in gases (pressure), but they don’t directly give particles more energy per collision.