Name: Lilyth Lerma Date: 1/27/25
Student Exploration: Collision Theory
Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.
Vocabulary: activated complex, catalyst, chemical reaction, concentration, enzyme, half-life, molecule,
product, reactant, surface area
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Suppose you added a spoonful of sugar to hot water and another to ice-cold water. Which type of water will
cause the sugar to dissolve more quickly?
The hot water
2. Suppose you held a lighted match to a solid hunk of wood and another match to a pile of wood shavings.
Which form of wood will catch fire more easily?
Wood shavings
Gizmo Warm-up
A chemical reaction causes the chemical compositions of substances
to change. Reactants are substances that enter into a reaction, and
products are substances produced by the reaction. The Collision
Theory Gizmo allows you to experiment with several factors that affect
the rate at which reactants are transformed into products in a chemical
reaction.
You will need blue, green, and orange markers or colored pencils for the
first part of this activity.
✏️
1. Look at the key at the bottom of the SIMULATION pane. In the space
below, draw ( ) the two reactants and two products of this chemical reaction.
✏️Reactants: ✏️Products:
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
,
2. Click Play ( ). What do you see?
reaction a bounced of reaction b
Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A: ● Click Reset ( ).
● Check that the Reactant concentration is set to
Temperature 1.0 mol/L, the Catalyst concentration is set to
0.00 mol/L, and the Surface area is Minimum.
Question: How does temperature affect the rate of a chemical reaction?
1. Observe: Select the ANIMATION tab. View the animation with No catalyst selected.
What do you see?
reactants collided and reaction happens
When two reactant molecules meet, they form a temporary structure called an activated complex. The
activated complex breaks up into the product molecules.
2. Observe: Return to the CONTROLS pane. Set the Temperature to 0 °C and the Simulation speed to its
maximum setting. Click Play.
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Student Exploration: Collision Theory
Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.
Vocabulary: activated complex, catalyst, chemical reaction, concentration, enzyme, half-life, molecule,
product, reactant, surface area
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. Suppose you added a spoonful of sugar to hot water and another to ice-cold water. Which type of water will
cause the sugar to dissolve more quickly?
The hot water
2. Suppose you held a lighted match to a solid hunk of wood and another match to a pile of wood shavings.
Which form of wood will catch fire more easily?
Wood shavings
Gizmo Warm-up
A chemical reaction causes the chemical compositions of substances
to change. Reactants are substances that enter into a reaction, and
products are substances produced by the reaction. The Collision
Theory Gizmo allows you to experiment with several factors that affect
the rate at which reactants are transformed into products in a chemical
reaction.
You will need blue, green, and orange markers or colored pencils for the
first part of this activity.
✏️
1. Look at the key at the bottom of the SIMULATION pane. In the space
below, draw ( ) the two reactants and two products of this chemical reaction.
✏️Reactants: ✏️Products:
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
,
2. Click Play ( ). What do you see?
reaction a bounced of reaction b
Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A: ● Click Reset ( ).
● Check that the Reactant concentration is set to
Temperature 1.0 mol/L, the Catalyst concentration is set to
0.00 mol/L, and the Surface area is Minimum.
Question: How does temperature affect the rate of a chemical reaction?
1. Observe: Select the ANIMATION tab. View the animation with No catalyst selected.
What do you see?
reactants collided and reaction happens
When two reactant molecules meet, they form a temporary structure called an activated complex. The
activated complex breaks up into the product molecules.
2. Observe: Return to the CONTROLS pane. Set the Temperature to 0 °C and the Simulation speed to its
maximum setting. Click Play.
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
