What effect does increasing pressure have on the rate of reaction?

Increasing pressure primarily affects the rate of reaction for gaseous reactants by compressing the molecules, which leads to a higher concentration of the reactants in a given volume. This increased concentration translates to a greater number of collisions between reactant molecules per unit time. Since reaction rates typically depend on the frequency of these molecular collisions, a rise in pressure consequently results in an increase in the rate of reaction.

In gas-phase reactions, when pressure is increased, it directly influences the system's dynamics. This is particularly significant for reactions involving gases in which the total number of moles of gas on the reactants and products side may differ, since increasing pressure could favor the reaction that produces fewer moles of gas, if considering changes to equilibrium. The connection between increased collisions and reaction rate is foundational to understanding how pressure impacts chemical kinetics in gaseous systems, confirming that rising pressure does indeed increase the reaction rate.