Question
Question: What are some examples of fast chemical reactions?...
What are some examples of fast chemical reactions?
Solution
To solve this question we first need to know what chemical reactions. When a new substance is formed by breaking bonds of the reactant molecules and forming bonds of product molecules, the reaction is known as a chemical reaction.
Complete answer:
When a reaction has lower activation energy, it takes a shorter time to complete and hence has a high rate of reaction. This type of reaction is known as a fast chemical reaction. Since these reactions are very fast, they take place so soon as the reactants combine.
Most of these reactions involve ionic species and hence are also called ionic reactions.
It's almost impossible to predict the exact rate of these reactions. But they mostly take place and are completed in about 10−14 10−16 seconds.
Some examples of fast chemical reactions are
- The reaction between NaHCO3 and CH3COOH.
- Lighting a matchstick by striking.
- Natural gas combustion like burning of petrol.
Additional Information:
When a reaction has high activation energy, it takes a longer time to complete and hence has a low rate of reaction. This type of reaction is known as a slow chemical reaction.
Some examples of slow chemical reactions are
- Turning yellow of a piece of newspaper in time
- Rusting
Note:
It should be noted that the least amount of energy that is required by the reactants to form products is known as activation energy. Activation energy can also be defined as the energy needed to activate or energize the molecules so that the reaction can proceed.