Topic 9A Kinetics
Use this landing page to move between the four Kinetics revision pages of Topic 9. Each card links to a focused page with inline checks, worked examples and exam-style FAQs.
Choose a Kinetics Page
Kinetics is the study of how fast reactions go and why. These pages build collision theory and activation energy, show how rates are measured and calculated from graphs, explain the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution that underlies the effect of temperature, and finish with catalysts: how they lower the activation energy and why industry depends on them.
Key idea: Every rate explanation comes back to two questions: how often do the particles collide, and what fraction of those collisions have energy at or above the activation energy?
Collision Theory and Rates of Reaction
Collision theory: rate of reaction, activation energy, effective collisions and the effects of concentration, pressure, surface area and temperature.
Start revisingMeasuring and Calculating Rates
Measuring rates: mass, gas volume and clock methods, rate = 1/time, tangents and initial rate on concentration–time graphs.
Start revisingThe Maxwell–Boltzmann Distribution
The Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution: shape, activation energy, the effect of temperature and the effect of a catalyst on the proportion of molecules that can react.
Start revisingCatalysts and Reaction Profiles
Catalysts: lower activation energy, reaction profiles with the intermediate, homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, and the economic and environmental benefits.
Start revisingHow to Use These Pages
Start with collision theory so the vocabulary is secure, then the measuring page for the practical and graph skills, then the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution and catalysts, which together explain temperature and catalyst effects at the molecular level.
Exam focus: Name the factor, say what it changes (collision frequency, or the proportion of collisions with E ≥ Eₐ, or both) and link that to the rate. The activation energy only moves for a catalyst.
Copyright notice: This revision page, including its written explanations, layout and teaching sequence, is produced for Online Learning System by Dr. Mohammed Al-Fatah. It is intended for student revision and may not be copied, redistributed or republished without permission.
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