Crash Course: Collision Theory

In this activity, students will learn about factors impacting the speed of a reaction as explained by collision theory.

Students benefit from this exercise as the simulator takes the abstract and makes it ‘real’ for the students. Students are able to engage with the simulator, modify parameters and see cause and effect on reaction rates. Students benefit from working collaboratively with others to converge on correct interpretations of observable phenomena using various aspects of collision theory.

The activity is rooted in constructivism, allowing students to collaborate with peers to answer questions. The activity is highly scaffolded using Moog et al.’s Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) approach.

This activity can be completed in 1-2 hours. This activity has been effectively used F2F and online and often is used as an introduction to collision theory. Prior to the activity, students should have a good understanding of what is a rate law.

Following the activity students will be able to:

• Describe a reaction in terms of collisions between reacting particles
• Discuss rate of reaction in terms of rate of collisions, rate of effective collisions, and the energy of activation, as described by collision theory
• Interpret and discuss a simple reaction progress diagram, showing the relative energies of reactants and products, and the energy of activation
• Discuss the effect on the rate of reaction of concentrations of reactants, energy of activation, temperature and a catalyst
• Define and explain how the molecularity of a collision can impact the rate of a reaction