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SAChemistry

Topic 2: Managing Chemical Processes

7 dot points across 7 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How does a catalyst speed up a reaction without being consumed?

Explain how catalysts increase reaction rate by providing an alternative pathway with a lower activation energy, and represent this on an energy profile.
How a catalyst lowers activation energy by providing an alternative reaction pathway, how this is shown on an energy profile, and why catalysts are not consumed.
7 min answer →

What does it mean for a reaction to reach dynamic equilibrium, and how does Kc describe it?

Describe dynamic equilibrium in closed systems and use the equilibrium constant expression Kc to relate equilibrium concentrations and reaction extent.
What dynamic equilibrium means in a closed system, how to write the equilibrium constant expression Kc, and how the size of Kc indicates the extent of a reversible reaction.
8 min answer →

How is the heat released or absorbed by a reaction measured and calculated?

Calculate enthalpy changes from calorimetry data using q = mcΔT, and interpret exothermic and endothermic reactions.
How to classify reactions as exothermic or endothermic and calculate enthalpy changes from calorimetry using q = mcΔT and the molar enthalpy relationship.
8 min answer →

How can chemical processes be designed to reduce waste and environmental impact?

Apply green chemistry principles, including atom economy, to evaluate the efficiency and sustainability of chemical processes.
The principles of green chemistry, how to calculate and interpret atom economy, and how to evaluate the efficiency and sustainability of an industrial process.
7 min answer →

How does a system at equilibrium respond when conditions are changed?

Apply Le Chatelier's principle to predict the effect of changes in concentration, pressure and temperature on the position of equilibrium.
How Le Chatelier's principle predicts the direction an equilibrium shifts when concentration, pressure or temperature is changed, and why temperature alone changes Kc.
8 min answer →

What factors control how fast a reaction proceeds, and why?

Use collision theory to explain the effect of concentration, surface area, temperature and pressure on reaction rate.
How collision theory explains reaction rate, and how concentration, surface area, temperature and pressure affect the frequency and energy of effective collisions.
7 min answer →

How do industrial conditions for the Haber process balance reaction rate against equilibrium yield?

Explain how temperature, pressure and catalyst conditions in the Haber process are chosen to compromise between reaction rate and equilibrium yield.
Why the Haber process uses moderate temperature, high pressure and an iron catalyst - the compromise between maximising equilibrium yield of ammonia and achieving an economic reaction rate.
8 min answer →