CHM 1311 Study Guide - Cuvette, Spectrophotometry, Logarithmic Scale
Document Summary
Chemical kinetics is the study of the rates at which reactions occur. Since it is related to chemical reactions, it is a major component of general chemistry and is integral to all chemical processes. The importance of studying chemical kinetics is that by studying chemical kinetics, chemists are able to predict the duration of a reaction, and manipulate the speed at which it occurs. Four major variables affect the rate of reaction: temperature, surface area, catalysts, and concentration of reactants. In this lab, we kept the temperature constant and tried as best as we could to avoid contamination of the reactants. This is to ensure that the only variable changing was the concentration of reactant. It is important to note that the surface area contact of the two reactants can be overlooked as long as the solution is well mixed. The order of reactions is an important part of understanding the rates of reaction.
