---
title: "A student investigates the combustion of carbon according to the balanced equation below.  \\[ \\text{C}(s) + \\text{O}_2(g) \\rightarrow \\text{CO}_2(g) \\]  The student measures the initial rate of reaction for a single \\(10.0 \\text{ g}\\) solid cube of carbon in excess \\(\\text{O}_2(g)\\) at \\(298 \\text{ K}\\) and \\(1.0 \\text{ atm}\\). The student then repeats the experiment using \\(10.0 \\text{ g}\\) of finely powdered carbon under the exact same conditions. Which of the following statements best predicts and explains the initial rate of reaction for the powdered carbon compared to the solid cube?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/119952/"
date_modified: "2026-08-21T08:21:22+00:00"
---

# A student investigates the combustion of carbon according to the balanced equation below.

\[ \text{C}(s) + \text{O}_2(g) \rightarrow \text{CO}_2(g) \]

The student measures the initial rate of reaction for a single \(10.0 \text{ g}\) solid cube of carbon in excess \(\text{O}_2(g)\) at \(298 \text{ K}\) and \(1.0 \text{ atm}\). The student then repeats the experiment using \(10.0 \text{ g}\) of finely powdered carbon under the exact same conditions. Which of the following statements best predicts and explains the initial rate of reaction for the powdered carbon compared to the solid cube?

A student investigates the combustion of carbon according to the balanced equation below.

\[ \text{C}(s) + \text{O}_2(g) \rightarrow \text{CO}_2(g) \]

The student measures the initial rate of reaction for a single \(10.0 \text{ g}\) solid cube of carbon in excess \(\text{O}_2(g)\) at \(298 \text{ K}\) and \(1.0 \text{ atm}\). The student then repeats the experiment using \(10.0 \text{ g}\) of finely powdered carbon under the exact same conditions. Which of the following statements best predicts and explains the initial rate of reaction for the powdered carbon compared to the solid cube?

- **A.** The rate of reaction is the same for the powdered carbon because both samples contain the same mass of reactant at the same temperature.
- **B.** The rate of reaction is greater for the powdered carbon because finely dividing the solid lowers the activation energy of the reaction.
- **C.** The rate of reaction is greater for the powdered carbon because the greater surface area increases the frequency of collisions between \(\text{O}_2(g)\) molecules and \(\text{C}(s)\) atoms.
- **D.** The rate of reaction is greater for the powdered carbon because smaller particles possess a higher average kinetic energy at a given temperature.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/119952/*