Changing the pressure on the reaction
2 marks · EasyExplain why increasing the pressure does not significantly affect the rate of reaction for a reaction involving only solids.
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In solids, particles are already very close together, so increasing the pressure does not significantly change how often the particles collide. Therefore, the rate of reaction is barely affected.
Must show: solids have closely packed particles, frequency of collisions does not increase significantly
Also accept: Solid particles are tightly packed, so pressure change barely affects them.
Common mistakes: It increases the rate.
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Marking points
B1 · 1 mark · Mentions that solid particles are already very close together/tightly packed.
B2 · 1 mark · States that collision frequency or rate does not increase significantly when pressure is increased.
Worked solution
Increasing pressure does not affect the rate much for solids because the particles are already tightly packed together, so there is almost no change in how frequently they collide with each other.