The rate of a chemical reaction doubles for every 10°C rise of temperature. If the temperature is raised by 50°C, the rate of the reaction increase by about
= 32 times
This problem involves the temperature dependence of chemical reaction rates, described by the Arrhenius equation. The key given is that the rate doubles for every 10°C temperature rise.
Total temperature increase: 50°C
Number of 10°C increments:
Since rate doubles per 10°C rise, for 5 increments:
Final rate increase factor =
The rate increases by 32 times.
Arrhenius Equation:
Where:
Temperature Coefficient (Q10):
The rule that reaction rate doubles per 10°C rise corresponds to Q10 = 2, which is approximate but commonly observed for many biological and chemical reactions.
Key Theory:
Increasing temperature provides more kinetic energy to molecules, increasing the fraction that surpass the activation energy barrier, thus accelerating the reaction rate exponentially.