Rate of reaction

• Reactions can go at all sorts of different rates
• A really slow reaction is the rusting of iron (one of the slowest)
• A moderate speed is a metal reacting with acid to produce a gentle stream of bubbles
• A really fast reaction is an explosion where it's all over in a fraction of a secon

Rate of reaction depends on four things:

• Temperature
• Concentration (or pressure for gases)
• Catalyst
• Surface area of solids (or size of solid pieces)