Effect of Temperature on Rate

Temperature is one of the most important factors affecting the rate of a chemical reaction. In this lesson you will learn exactly why increasing temperature increases the rate, and you will study the core practical investigation that the Edexcel specification requires you to know. This is a topic that appears frequently in exams, both as short-answer questions and as extended-response questions.

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Why Does Increasing Temperature Increase the Rate?

When the temperature of a reaction mixture is increased, two things happen:

1. Particles Move Faster — More Frequent Collisions

At a higher temperature, particles have more kinetic energy. This means they move faster and collide with each other more often. The increased frequency of collisions means there are more opportunities for a reaction to take place in any given time period.

2. More Particles Exceed the Activation Energy — More Successful Collisions