Question

Ammonia is an important ingredient in many fertilizers. The main process by which ammonia is made is the Haber process. In this process, nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas a re reacted to form ammonia at high temperatures. Which of the following most likely explains why this reaction is carried out at high temperature?

Answer 1

The options attached to the above question are given below:

A.) Ammonia is unstable at room temperature.
B.) High temperatures increase the activation energy of the reaction.
C.) High temperatures make the gas molecules move more quickly.
D.) The reaction becomes exothermic at high temperatures.

ANSWER

The correct option is C.

The temperature at which a chemical reaction takes place determines the kinetic energy of the molecules that are involved in the reaction. For the molecules in the reaction to move quickly and for the reaction to occur at a faster rate, high temperature is needed. Application of high temperature increase the kinetic energy of the molecules, makes collision to occur more often and lead to a faster reaction rate. The higher the temperature, the quicker the reaction.