Advanced Chemistry: Reaction Kinetics

We all know that food spoils faster outside the refrigerator. The reason is the increase in the rate of bacterial reactions at elevated temperatures. This advanced chemistry course provides a comprehensive look at the kinetics, rate, and mechanism of reactions. First, you'll discover the rate of reaction expression and how to calculate the reaction rate by measuring the change in concentration over time of reactants. Then, you'll look at the two methods for calculating concentration change: sampling and continuous. How to measure volume changes in gases using a gas syringe and the change in volume for liquids using a dilatometer and the stopped-flow spectrophotometry technique are also defined.

Next, the course moves on to the order of a reaction, dictated by the power of the reactant's concentration. We explore the straight-line equations and graphical representations for zero-order, first-order, and second-order reactions. You'll discover which is independent of concentration or dependent on it across several examples. After that, we investigate the half-life of a reaction formula that changes according to the order of the reaction. The half-life is inversely proportional to the rate constant in all reactions.

The course concludes with a discussion of kinetics and reaction mechanisms. You'll learn how to represent chemical reactions using chemical equations which specify only the reactants and final products. Following that, you will study the stages of a reaction mechanism, including the rate-determining step that determines the reaction rate. Catalysis and the two types of catalysts, homogeneous and heterogeneous, are described. Lastly, we demonstrate the energy diagram and electrode potential of homogeneously catalysed reactions using some examples. Sign up today to boost your chemistry skills!