Effect of temperature and concentration on rate
Chemical Kinetics · Chemistry
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Milk sours in ~1 day at 30°C but lasts ~7 days at 5°C. Explain via kinetics. Step 1: Bacterial/lactic-acid reactions have E_a ~60–80 kJ/mol. Step 2: 25 K drop ≈ 2.5 × 10 K steps; rate falls ~2^2.5 ≈ 5.7×. Step 3: Observed ~7× slower — matches Arrhenius expectation. Step 4: Refrigeration doesn't stop spoilage, just slows the kinetics. Every 10 K matters — the exponential is unforgiving.