Temperature has a direct effect on the rate of a chemical reaction:
- Increases kinetic energy
- When temperature rises, molecules move faster.
- This increases the number of collisions between reacting particles.
- More effective collisions
- Not only do collisions happen more often, but more of them have enough energy to overcome the activation energy barrier.
- This leads to more successful (effective) collisions.
- Faster reaction rate
- Because of the above two effects, the rate of reaction usually increases rapidly with temperature.
- A common rule of thumb: for many reactions, a 10°C rise roughly doubles the reaction rate (though this can vary).
- At very high temperatures
- In biological systems (like enzymes), too much heat can actually denature proteins and slow or stop the reaction.
In short: Higher temperature = faster reaction, because molecules collide more often and with enough energy to react.