AP Chemistry Unit Review
Unit 5: Kinetics
How it applies to our lives
In modern airbags, there is a multistep reaction that occurs with the decomposition of solid sodium azide. The crash sensor ignites only when there is a sudden drop in the car’s momentum. When the temperature rises, the chemical bonds of sodium azide break, forming nitrogen gas. The deployment of an airbag demonstrates how fast particles break apart and react resulting in the rapid production of nitrogen gas.
Key Vocabulary
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Kinetics
Rate determining step
Collision Theory
Catalyst
Elementary Step
Reaction Energy Profile
Main Takeaways
Rate increased when a solid is broken into pieces (increase in surface area), higher concentration of reactants, high temperature, or adding a catalyst.
In a multistep reaction mechanism, you need to test it experimentally to see if it matches proposed steps.
The overall balanced chemical reaction can be found by adding up elementary steps and eliminating catalysts and intermediates.
Reaction order is determined by identifying which graph ([M], ln[M], or 1/[M] vs time) results in a linear line.
The rate constant of a 0th order reaction is equal to the negative slope of the [M] vs time graph.
Common Misconceptions
The slow step (rate determining step) must eliminate any intermediates if the previous step is a fast equilibrium to derive the correct rate law.
Unit Quiz
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