AP Chemistry / Topic
Kinetics
Unit 5 covers reaction rates: rate laws from initial-rates data, integrated rate laws and half-life, collision theory, energy profiles, catalysts, and reaction mechanisms with rate-determining steps.
What the exam asks
- Determine reaction orders and the rate constant from experimental data tables
- Use integrated rate laws and identify order from linear plots
- Apply half-life reasoning for first-order processes
- Explain how concentration, temperature, surface area, and catalysts change rates via collision theory
- Evaluate proposed mechanisms: elementary steps, intermediates, catalysts, and consistency with the rate law
Key formulas and rules
rate = k[A]^m[B]^n — orders come from experiment, not coefficients
[A] vs t is linear; rate independent of [A]
ln[A] vs t linear; ln[A]t = −kt + ln[A]0; t½ = 0.693/k (constant)
1/[A] vs t is linear; 1/[A]t = kt + 1/[A]0
rate law of the slow (rate-determining) step must match the observed rate law
lowers activation energy, appears unchanged; intermediate is made then consumed
Question bank breakdown
32
1
11 easy · 13 medium · 8 hard
Skills covered
Every question in the bank comes with a per-choice explanation, so you learn why each wrong answer is wrong — not just the key.
Practice this topic
The full set of Kinetics questions — with a per-choice explanation on every answer — lives in the practice workspace. Start free, no account needed.
Study tip
Memorize the three linear plots ([A], ln[A], 1/[A] versus time). The exam's favorite kinetics question is handing you a straight-line graph and asking for the order or the meaning of the slope.