Collision Theory

To understand why each of these factors affects the rate of a reaction, you need to understand collision theory. Collision theory states that:

In order to react, particles must collide with enough energy 

and with correct orientation.

Let’s make sense of that by pulling it apart and applying it to a simple reaction:

There are three parts to this statement. We'll look at each of them separately:

• Molecules must collide
• with enough energy
• with correct orientation