How Does Temperature Affect the Rate of Chemical Reactions?
Temperature is a key factor affecting the rate of chemical reactions. In general, as temperature increases, so does the reaction rate. This is the reason why food is stored in the refrigerator: The cold temperature slows down the chemical reactions that lead to its spoiling. Temperature is a measure of the average energy of the many molecules in a sample, and not all molecules have the same amount of energy. Most chemical reactions need to surmount an energy barrier to occur. This amount of energy is called Activation Energy and varies with the nature of the reaction. This means that, in order to undergo the reaction, a molecule of reactant must acquire enough energy to reach the activation energy level, and heat is one of the ways in which this can happen. As the temperature increases, reactant molecules increase their energy levels, coming closer and closer to the activation energy. Some molecules reach it and undergo the reaction. The rate at which a particular molecule undergoes th
