Kaplan Nursing Entrance Practice Exam 2025 – The All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

The rate of a chemical reaction can be influenced by several factors, including temperature, surface area, and pressure. Each of these factors directly impacts how quickly reactants are converted into products.

Time does not alter the inherent rate of a reaction; rather, it is a measurement of how long a reaction takes to reach completion. While reactions will eventually progress over time, the actual speed or rate at which they occur is determined by the other factors mentioned. For instance, increasing the temperature typically increases reaction rates by providing more energy to the molecules, leading to more frequent and effective collisions. Similarly, increasing the surface area of solid reactants allows for more collisions with reactants in gaseous or liquid forms, hastening the reaction. Pressure also plays a role, especially in reactions involving gases, as increasing pressure can raise concentration and collision frequency, leading to faster reactions.

Since time does not affect the mechanics of how the reactants interact at the molecular level, it is correctly identified as the factor that does not influence the rates of chemical reactions.