Challenge Your Exam Readiness With Our Free GED Practice Questions

Reaction rate depends on frequency and energy of effective collisions. Grinding a solid into powder exposes more surface for reactant contact, increasing the number of collisions per unit time and typically speeding up the reaction. Thus, Option B is correct. Option A contradicts collision theory—more surface means more, not fewer, encounters. Option C ignores a well-established principle in heterogeneous reactions, where at least one reactant is solid. Option D is extreme and unsupported. On the GED Science test, remember the four classic levers that increase most reaction rates: higher temperature, higher concentration, greater surface area (for solids), and presence of a catalyst (which lowers activation energy). Visualize the difference between a sugar cube and granulated sugar dissolving: the powdered form reacts/dissolves faster because more molecules are accessible at the interface.