If temperature is increased the rate of diffusion

Video Transcript

What effect will increasing the temperature have on the rate of diffusion? (A) The rate of diffusion will decrease. (B) The rate of diffusion will decrease, then increase. (C) The rate of diffusion will increase. (D) The rate of diffusion will increase, then decrease. Or (E) the rate of diffusion will stay the same.

This question is asking about the process of diffusion, which is defined as a gas or liquid spreading out into another gas or liquid. A simple example of diffusion is a drop of ink entering a glass of water and spreading out to turn the entire glass a certain color. This question is asking about the effect of temperature on the rate of diffusion. Or in other words, if we make the temperature hotter, will the particles diffuse or spread out faster or slower?

To incorporate all of the possible choices, the rate could also stay the same or change more than once. So how does temperature affect the rate of diffusion? The key relationship to understand for this problem is that a higher temperature results in more kinetic energy in the particles which causes them to defuse faster. The particles involved will move randomly through space, colliding with the surrounding particles. At a higher temperature, the particles will have more kinetic energy, which means that they move more quickly and bump into the other particles with more momentum.

The increase in speed will result in the particles moving and defusing more quickly. Unless we change the temperature again, the increased rate of diffusion will remain. So our answer is choice (C), the rate of diffusion will increase. Hotter things diffuse faster. That’s why, for example, a freshly baked piece of pie will be more fragrant than the whipped cream on top. Scent molecules emanating from the hot slice of pie will reach our noses quicker and at greater distances than the scent molecules emanating from the whipped cream.

What about the example that we brought up earlier? How will the temperature affect the rate of diffusion when a drop of ink is dropped into a glass of water. Well, ink dropped into a glass of hot water will spread out faster than ink dropped into a glass of cold water. We can observe this by noting that the cold glass of water will take longer to completely change color. So as we can see, it’s true in theory, and it’s true in a couple of real-life examples. Increasing the temperature will cause the rate of diffusion to increase.

Learn the effect that temperature has on the process of diffusion to understand how to speed up the process and how to increase the rate of most chemical reactions. Diffusion is a process by which a concentrated group of molecules gradually becomes less concentrated, either by mixing with nearby molecules or simply by moving to a lower concentration area. The process of diffusion is affected by temperature in the same way most reactions are.

Simple Diffusion

In basic terms, diffusion can be defined as the process by which particles spread out. This is generally from an area where they are high in concentration to an area where they are in a lower concentration. This can be understood by thinking of a pan with onions cooking in it. The smell given off by the onions is very concentrated in the top of the pan, above the cooking onions. The molecules, therefore, move into an area when they are in lower concentration, such as the surrounding air. Eventually, the smell spreads throughout the kitchen or even the entire home.

Mixing Diffusion

If two different gases or liquids are close to each other, the process of diffusion causes them to mix together. Imagine two gases separated by a partition. The free-moving gas molecules bounce off the central partition as they whirl around in their container. If the partition is removed, the gases mix as the molecules move around. This is related to the second law of thermodynamics, which states that in a closed system, all things tend toward entropy. “Entropy,” for this purpose, can simply be defined as disorder; therefore, unmixed particles in a closed system tend to mix, or diffuse.

Temperature and Reaction Rate

Chemical reactions are more violent than they may seem. Many reactions occur when atoms smash into each other and form a bond. At normal temperature, the atoms meander around in the solution or container and only collide occasionally. When the temperature is increased, the atoms move a lot quicker, like you would if you were walking on hot coals. This causes more collisions to occur much faster and therefore, increases the reaction rate. This is a general rule for any chemical reaction.

Temperature and Diffusion

The process of diffusion is all about particles moving from high concentration areas to low concentration areas, or mixing together. Both of these things are dependent upon the movement of the atoms, and are therefore susceptible to the aforementioned effects of temperature. As the temperature is increased, the process of diffusion occurs more rapidly and the faster molecules spread out or mix with other molecules more quickly.