Summary
Highlights
A chemical reaction can only occur when reacting particles collide with sufficient energy. The rate of reaction is determined by the frequency of successful collisions, essentially the number of collisions per second.
Particles must collide with 'sufficient energy,' which refers to the activation energy. This is the minimum amount of energy particles must possess to react successfully. If particles have low energy, they cannot overcome this barrier and won't react. Particles with high energy can overcome the activation energy and react.
Increasing temperature significantly increases the rate of chemical reactions. Higher temperatures provide particles with more energy, causing them to move faster. This leads to a greater frequency of collisions and increases the energy of each collision, allowing more particles to overcome the activation energy barrier and react successfully. Therefore, the rate of reaction is proportional to temperature.