Question

Lumps of sodium carbonate react more slowly with dilute nitric acid than powdered sodium

carbonate.

Use ideas about collisions to explain why.​

Answer 1

Answer:

In the lab, powdered calcium carbonate reacts much faster with dilute hydrochloric acid than if the same mass was present as lumps of ...

Answer 2

Answer:

Powdered chemicals have a higher surface area to volume ratio compared to lumps, this allows for more collisions.

Explanation:

• Large lumps have a lower surface area to volume ratio than tiny lumps or powders for a given mass of a solid.
• If a huge lump is split into smaller pieces or crushed into a powder, the overall volume remains constant, but the surface area exposed increases and the surface area to volume ratio rises.
• The rate of reaction increases with the frequency of successful collisions.
• More reactant particles are exposed at the surface, collisions between reactant particles occur more frequently, and the rate of reaction increases as the surface area to volume ratio of reacting solid increases.

This is why powdered sodium reacts faster with dilute nitric acid than lumps.

#SPJ2