To determine which method would speed up the reaction between calcium hydroxide ([tex]\( Ca(OH)_2 \)[/tex]) and carbon dioxide ([tex]\( CO_2 \)[/tex]) to produce calcium carbonate ([tex]\( CaCO_3 \)[/tex]) and water ([tex]\( H_2O \)[/tex]), let's analyze each provided option:
1. Lower the temperature: Lowering the temperature generally slows down reactions because the molecules have less kinetic energy, which leads to fewer collisions with enough energy to react. This would not help in speeding up the reaction.
2. Use larger pieces of calcium hydroxide: Using larger pieces of [tex]\( Ca(OH)_2 \)[/tex] decreases the surface area available for the reaction. A smaller surface area means fewer collisions between [tex]\( CO_2 \)[/tex] gas molecules and [tex]\( Ca(OH)_2 \)[/tex] solid particles, which slows down the reaction.
3. Lower the pressure: Lowering the pressure would result in fewer gas molecules in a given volume, reducing the frequency of collisions between [tex]\( CO_2 \)[/tex] molecules and [tex]\( Ca(OH)_2 \)[/tex]. This would also slow the reaction.
4. Reduce the volume of the container: Reducing the volume of the container increases the pressure. Higher pressure means more [tex]\( CO_2 \)[/tex] molecules are present per unit volume, which increases the frequency of collisions between [tex]\( CO_2 \)[/tex] gas molecules and [tex]\( Ca(OH)_2 \)[/tex] solid particles. This would speed up the reaction.
Thus, the correct way to speed up the reaction is to reduce the volume of the container, as it increases the pressure and collision frequency, thereby producing calcium carbonate faster.
The correct option is:
Reduce the volume of the container.
