AP®︎ Chemistry Unit 5: Notes & Study Guide

Prepare for your quiz, test, or the AP exam with a comprehensive review on Unit 5 of AP Chemistry – Kinetics.

Exam weight: 7%–9%
11 Topics

Unit 5: Kinetics

What controls how fast reactions happen, from concentration and temperature to catalysts and reaction mechanisms.

Begin with Topic 5.1: Reaction Rates

To review Unit 5, go through each of the 11 topics below.

Everything you actually need to know for your Unit 5 test, pulled directly from the AP® Chemistry curriculum.

Topic 5.1
~5 min
Review
Reaction Rates
Reaction Rates
  • What Reaction Rate Is
  • How Rate Appears on Graphs
  • Stoichiometry and Relative Reaction Rates
Review
Topic 5.2
~6 min
Review
Introduction to Rate Law
Introduction to Rate Law
  • What a Rate Law Is
  • Reaction Orders and Overall Order
  • Determining a Rate Law from Experimental Data
Review
Topic 5.3
~6 min
Review
Concentration Changes Over Time
Concentration Changes Over Time
  • Integrated Rate Laws and What They Tell You
  • The Three Reaction Orders and Their Equations
  • Determining Reaction Order from Graphs
Review
Topic 5.4
~5 min
Review
Elementary Reactions
Elementary Reactions
  • What an Elementary Reaction Is
  • Molecularity and Types of Elementary Reactions
  • Writing the Rate Law from an Elementary Reaction
Review
Topic 5.5
~6 min
Review
Collision Model
Collision Model
  • The Collision Model
  • What Makes a Collision Successful
  • Collision Frequency and Reaction Rate
Review
Topic 5.6
~6 min
Review
Reaction Energy Profile
Reaction Energy Profile
  • What a Reaction Energy Profile Shows
  • The Three Key Points on the Diagram
  • Activation Energy and Overall Energy Change
Review
Topic 5.7
~6 min
Review
Introduction to Reaction Mechanisms
Introduction to Reaction Mechanisms
  • What a Reaction Mechanism Is
  • Components of a Reaction Mechanism
  • How Elementary Steps Combine to Form the Overall Reaction
Review
Topic 5.8
~6 min
Review
Reaction Mechanism and Rate Law
Reaction Mechanism and Rate Law
  • What a Reaction Mechanism Is
  • The Rate-Determining Step and Molecularity
  • How to Write the Rate Law from a Mechanism
Review
Topic 5.9
~6 min
Review
Pre-Equilibrium Approximation
Pre-Equilibrium Approximation
  • What the Pre-Equilibrium Approximation Is
  • When to Use It and What to Look For in a Mechanism
  • How to Derive the Rate Law Using Pre-Equilibrium
Review
Topic 5.10
~6 min
Review
Multistep Reaction Energy Profile
Multistep Reaction Energy Profile
  • What a Multistep Reaction Energy Profile Is
  • Parts of a Multistep Energy Diagram
  • How to Construct a Multistep Energy Profile
Review
Topic 5.11
~5 min
Review
Catalysis
Catalysis
  • What a Catalyst Is
  • How Catalysts Change the Reaction Pathway
  • What Happens to the Catalyst in a Mechanism
Review

Notes

1 credit used · 5/5 remaining