Unit 5 · Kinetics

Chapter 5.3

Collisions, Elementary Steps, and the Energy Profile

Molecules in a flask collide billions of times a second, and almost every collision does nothing. A reaction happens only when two of them hit hard enough and the right way round.

in preparation · lesson 22 of 45

By the end

  1. 01Write the rate law of an elementary step directly from its molecularity
  2. 02Explain rate with collision frequency, energy above the activation barrier, and orientation
  3. 03Use the Maxwell–Boltzmann curve to explain qualitatively how temperature changes rate
  4. 04Draw an energy profile with reactants, transition state, products, activation energy, and net energy change

In unit 5

  1. 5.1Reaction Rates and the Rate Law
  2. 5.2Concentration Over Time: Integrated Rate Laws and Half-Life
  3. 5.3Collisions, Elementary Steps, and the Energy Profile
  4. 5.4Reaction Mechanisms: From Steps to the Rate Law
  5. 5.5Multistep Energy Profiles and Catalysis
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