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About This Unit
In this unit, we will study chemical kinetics, which is the study of how fast chemical reactions happen and what factors affect reaction rate. This builds on the previous unit about chemical reactions by focusing not just on what products form, but how quickly they form.
We will learn how reaction rates can be measured by tracking the concentration of reactants or products over time. You will explore how factors such as concentration, temperature, catalysts, and collisions between particles can make reactions happen faster or slower.
A major focus of this unit is using experimental data to determine rate laws. Rate laws show how the concentration of each reactant affects the overall reaction rate. You will practice using tables, graphs, and calculations to determine reaction order, rate constants, and relationships between concentration and time.
We will also study reaction energy and mechanisms. Energy diagrams help us show the energy changes that occur during a reaction, including activation energy. Reaction mechanisms help explain how a reaction happens step by step, and catalysts show how changing the pathway of a reaction can change its rate.
On the AP Chemistry Exam students are expected to connect experimental data, graphs, rate laws, and reaction mechanisms. Strong answers should use evidence from data or graphs and clearly explain how that evidence supports conclusions about reaction rate, reaction order, or mechanism.
Essential Questions
- How can we measure the rate of a chemical reaction using changes in concentration over time?
- What factors affect reaction rate, and how can they be explained using particle collisions?
- How can experimental data be used to determine a rate law?
- What does a rate law tell us about the relationship between reactant concentration and reaction rate?
- How can graphs of concentration and time help us determine reaction order and rate constants?
- How can energy changes in a reaction be represented using diagrams and calculations?
- How do reaction mechanisms explain the step-by-step process of a chemical reaction? How do catalysts change the rate of a reaction by changing the reaction pathway?
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