Lesson 18 – The Boltzman Distribution

For a reaction to take place, 3 things must occur:

1. There must be a collision
2. Both particles must have enough energy
3. The particles must have the correct orientation

To increase or speed up the reaction you can:

1. Increase pressure/concentration
2. Increase temperature
3. Increase surface area
4. Add a catalyst

The purple line shows what happens when you increase the temperature. The line of activation energy stays the same however more particles have the required energy to react.

REMEMBER: The area under the line must stay the same as there are the same number of particles!

When adding a catalyst the line of activation energy changes. This means more particles have the required energy to react.