Why does increasing the surface area make a reaction go faster?

Answer 1

Think of this: What burns faster, a thick log or kindling What melts faster, 1 BIG icecube or 10 smaller icecubes What will get mould away to nothing first, a huge block of cheese or small slices of cheese Which will heat faster in boiled water, a whole potato or thin cut potato like potato chips The surface area gives more area of interation between molecules. What will cool bottle of water quicker, putting it in cold water, (surface area = the sides of the bottle) or dumping it into the water and mixing it (surface area = each surface of the trillions of atoms of the water) -A reaction involves atoms forming and breaking bonds with other atoms. For a reaction to proceed, the atoms involved must come in contact with each other. Something with a larger surface area will have more atoms exposed to the outside world, and so will have more atoms exposed to the other reactant. The more exposed atoms, the faster the reaction will go.

See the Related Questions links for more information about reaction rates and what they are affected by.

Answer 2

If you look at an atomic level, to get a reaction, the atoms need to be a a very close proximity. So the larger the area, the better the chances are that the atoms are in close proximity. If an area has a polished finish, the effective reaction area is (in an ideal polished situation) the surface area. If an area is scratched, roughed up, the effective area is much larger, due to the peaks and troughs in the material, hence a larger surface area, hence a faster reaction

Answer 3

for a reaction to occur the two (or more) species must collide. a larger surface area of a solid (usually reacting with a gas or liquid) exposes more of the molecules or atoms of the species thereby increasing the probability of a successful collision and a reaction.

Answer 4

Temperature is the average kinetic energy of atomic or molecular particles; at higher temperatures, these chemical units are moving more rapidly and therefore have more energetic collisions, and energetic collisions are an opportunity for chemical reactions to take place. The more energy is involved, the more likely the chemicals are to react.

Answer 5

Reactions require collisions between particles. Fewer collisions occur at lower temperatures.

Answer 6

No, the rate of reaction increases when surface area of reactant increases. A smaller surface area will give a slower rate of reaction.

Answer 7

The reaction will often occur at the surface of an object.

Answer 8

When the surface area is high the speed of reaction increase.