4.1+How+fast?

The rate of a reaction shows how fast the reactions how fast the reactants turn into the product. If the reaction takes place at a slow rate it means the molecules bump into each other at a slower speed but at a high rate the molecules bump into each other faster and with more power.

Reaction rates are also important in the chemical industry because any industrial process has to make a profit by making useful products. To make a profit companies want to make a lot of products as cheaply as possible. Therefore the rate of a reaction has to be fast enough to make it safe and quick.

Chemical reactions can happen at different rates, some very fast and some very slow. There is two ways to measure the rate of a reaction. One way is to measure how fast the reactants are used up and the other is to measure the rate the products are made at.

We can take these measurements in three ways: Next>
 * Measuring the mass of a reaction mixture
 * Measuring the volume of gas given off
 * Measuring the light transmitted through a solution.