Reaction Rate Simulator
Change temperature and concentration and see how fast a reaction goes.
About the Reaction Rate Simulator
Free reaction rate simulation. Change temperature, concentration and see particles react, with a live graph of reactant and product amounts and the measured rate. Built for reactions & kinetics, the reaction rate simulator runs instantly in your browser: change a setting or drag an object and the result updates at once, so you learn by trying things out rather than only reading about them.
Change temperature and concentration and see how fast a reaction goes. Use it to explore reactions & kinetics ideas at your own pace, then check what you found against the key ideas further down this page.
How to use the Reaction Rate Simulator
- Use the controls to change Temperature, Amount of A, Amount of B, Activation energy. The simulation reacts instantly.
- Press "Pause", "Restart" to start, reset or change what is happening.
- Where you see a glowing handle, object, weight or atom, drag it with your mouse or finger. Everything responds in real time.
- Watch the readouts and graphs update as you experiment, and compare what you see with the key ideas below.
Things to try
- Double the amount of A and B.
- Raise the temperature.
- Raise the activation energy.
- Watch the product curve.
Key ideas you can learn
- Higher concentration means more collisions per second.
- Higher temperature makes particles faster, so more collisions have enough energy.
- The rate is the slope of the concentration-time graph.
Where this is used in the real world
Controlling reaction rate matters in food storage, medicine shelf life, car engines, fertiliser production and industrial chemistry.
Who is this simulation for?
Students learning reaction rates, equilibrium and equations, and teachers who want a visual way to explain what happens to particles.
For teachers: project it on the board, let students predict what will happen, then run it together. For students: change one thing at a time and write down what changes.
Frequently asked questions
Why does raising the temperature speed up a reaction?
Particles move faster, so they collide more often and, more importantly, more of the collisions have at least the activation energy.
How do you measure a reaction rate?
By how quickly a reactant is used up or a product forms over time, which is the slope of the concentration-time graph.
Is the Reaction Rate Simulator free to use?
Yes. It is completely free, with no signup, no download and no ads inside the simulation. It runs in your web browser.
Does the Reaction Rate Simulator work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. It uses touch as well as the mouse, so you can drag objects with your finger. A larger screen makes the controls easier to see.