Physics I / Reaction rates and collision reasoning
Practice question · True or false

Raising the temperature speeds a reaction mainly by making molecules collide more often.

Hints
  1. Compare the rise in collision frequency with the rise in the fraction above EaE_a.
  2. The Boltzmann factor is exponential.
Show the answer

False

Why

False. Collision frequency rises only with T\sqrt{T}, a few percent for a 10 K rise, while the fraction of molecules exceeding the activation energy rises exponentially through the Boltzmann factor. That exponential term is what roughly doubles many rates for every 10 K, not the extra collisions.

Read the lesson: Reaction rates and collision reasoning →

Practise Reaction rates and collision reasoning

The app has 7 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Physics I is free to start.

More questions on Reaction rates and collision reasoning