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Reactions depend on molecular collisions. If a solid reactant is a solid, grinding it into smaller particles will increase the surface area. The more surface area, the faster the molecular collisions, which in turn increases the rate of reaction.

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14y ago

The rate of reaction of a chemical substance in solid form is directly proportional to his surface area.

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Q: How does increasing the surface area of a solid reactant affect the energy of molecular collisions?
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Continue Learning about Natural Sciences

What physical factors control the rate of chemical reactions?

Surface area of the reactant.


What may have cooled the earth's surface?

after collisions subsided, the earth's surface was able to cool, but the interior remained hot


How do you increase the number of collisions between molecules?

heating, stirring, surface area


Why does increasing the surface area make a reaction go faster?

Think of this: What burns faster, a thick log or kindling What melts faster, 1 BIG icecube or 10 smaller icecubes What will get mould away to nothing first, a huge block of cheese or small slices of cheese Which will heat faster in boiled water, a whole potato or thin cut potato like potato chips The surface area gives more area of interation between molecules. What will cool bottle of water quicker, putting it in cold water, (surface area = the sides of the bottle) or dumping it into the water and mixing it (surface area = each surface of the trillions of atoms of the water) -A reaction involves atoms forming and breaking bonds with other atoms. For a reaction to proceed, the atoms involved must come in contact with each other. Something with a larger surface area will have more atoms exposed to the outside world, and so will have more atoms exposed to the other reactant. The more exposed atoms, the faster the reaction will go. See the Related Questions links for more information about reaction rates and what they are affected by.


How does increased surface area of a reactant in a chemical reaction leads to faster reaction?

The more finely divided the solid is, the faster the reaction happens. A powdered solid will normally produce a faster reaction than if the same mass is present as a single lump. The powdered solid has a greater surface area than the single lump.

Related questions

How is the rate of a reaction affected by reactant surface area?

That there is a bigger area of a solid exposed, so there is a greater chance of collisions causing a reaction.


How does surface area affect the rate of reaction?

The rate of a chemical reaction can be raised by increasing the surface area of a solid reactant. This is done by cutting the substance into small pieces, or by grinding it into a powder. If the surface area of a reactant is increased: More particles are exposed to the other reactant, there are more collisions, the rate of reaction increases.


Why does surface of a reactant influence the rate of the reaction?

A chemical reaction is nothing but the conversion of the reactant molecules into product molecules. By increasing the surface area of the reactants more number of reactant molecules are exposed which eventually increases the rate of the reaction...for example, powdered chalk piece dissolves faster in water than a piece of chalk.


Why does surface area of a reactant influence the rate of the reactions?

A chemical reaction is nothing but the conversion of the reactant molecules into product molecules. By increasing the surface area of the reactants more number of reactant molecules are exposed which eventually increases the rate of the reaction...for example, powdered chalk piece dissolves faster in water than a piece of chalk.


Why does surface area of a reactant influence the rate of the of the reaction?

by pooing on the leg


Why the reaction with powered marble are more vigorous than those with the pieces of marble?

Rates of reaction can vary due to a number of reasons. One way rates of reactions can be increased is to increase the surface area of your reactants. By increasing the surface area, more of your reactant is exposed to the other reagents, thereby increasing the rates of reaction by simply increasing the effective contact areas between reagents.


Name two ways to speed up a reaction?

increasing surface area addition of a catalyst


Why is the Moon's surface spots?

The spots on the Moon's surface are craters left from collisions with meteors and asteroids.


What physical factors control the rate of chemical reactions?

Surface area of the reactant.


What may have cooled the earth's surface?

after collisions subsided, the earth's surface was able to cool, but the interior remained hot


How do you increase the number of collisions between molecules?

heating, stirring, surface area


What are three methods to speed up a chemical reaction?

* breaking a solid into something smaller (to increase its surface area) * make the solution more concentrated, * increase the temperature. Other methods for increasing the rate of reaction are incrasing the pressure and adding a catalyst.