Chemistry / Unit 9 Chem 1624 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Concentration and Reaction Rate
Captions available
The idea
Raising a reactant's concentration usually raises a reaction's rate, since more particles per volume means more collisions between them.
In practice
Phosphorus burns far more rapidly in pure oxygen than in ordinary air, where oxygen is only about a fifth of the gas present.
Where people slip
"Usually" matters — exactly how rate responds to concentration is a separate, experimentally determined question, taken up next.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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