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Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis

Effective Collision

A collision that actually leads to reaction because it has both sufficient energy and correct orientation.

Unit Dimensionless

In depth

Effective collisions are a tiny minority of all collisions, and the reaction rate is directly proportional to their frequency. Every factor that speeds a reaction — higher concentration, higher temperature, greater surface area, a catalyst — works by increasing the number of effective collisions per second.

Examples in the real world

Powdering a solid reactant increases surface area and therefore the number of effective collisions per second.