The energy profile diagram below was plotted for the following second order elem

Question

The energy profile diagram below was plotted for the following second order elementary reaction: A + AC AB + C. At low temperatures a relatively small fraction of collisions between reactants result in the formation of products. Describe the interactions between reactants that collided with an orientation that would produce products, but failed to do so. At high temperatures a relatively large fraction of collisions between reactants resulted in the formation of products. Describe the interactions between the reactants from the moment of a collision through to the formation of separate products.

Explanation / Answer

a) As it is said in order for a chemical reaction to take place, the reactant that is A and BC must collide with sufficient energy to produce a product. The energy is needed by the reactant to break bond between them and new bond get formed in the product. So to form reaction the reactant should move fast enough so that their collision could break bond between them. The minimum amount of energy needed by reactant to produce product is called activation energy. Many a times this energy couldn't be achieved for the conversion of reactant to product, so this forms low product at low temperature. If the molecule collision take place with sufficient energy, then also the product is not formed or least product is formed. This happens because the collision between molecule have to take place in right orientation, so that a proper line up take place between one and another atom so that the breaking of bond take place and their reformation in a necessary pattern. This is why this type of collision does not produce a product. For e.g if a CO2 molecule has to be formed from the reactant CO and O2. Lets take the two orientation in the first the oxygen side of the CO molecule will react with the O2 molecule, no reaction will take place. In the second orientation the carbon side of the molecule CO will react with the O2 the reaction would take place and the product will be formed i.e CO2 + O

b) As said before the collision between two molecule lead to the formation of product. The minimum energy needed by the molecule to produce product is activation energy, this energy is achieved by the reactant which are moving fast and which could collide with one another with such force that help in the breaking of the bond. We know from kinetic theory of gases that the kinetic energy of the molecule increases with increasing the temperature. As we go on increasing the temperature the reactant molecule will start moing faster with more kinetic energy and this tells us that more the kinetic energy of the molecule more the probablity of these molecules to achieve the needed activation energy upon collision. This is why more product is produced at higher temperature.

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