What is the effect of dilution on reactant concentrations during a reaction?

During a reaction, when a solution undergoes dilution, the concentration of the reactants decreases. This is because dilution involves adding more solvent to the solution, which increases the total volume while keeping the amount of solute (reactants, in this case) constant.

As the concentration of reactants decreases, the likelihood of collisions between the reactant molecules also reduces. In many reactions, especially those that follow the collision theory, fewer collisions can lead to a slower reaction rate. Consequently, this decreased frequency of effective collisions can indeed slow down the overall reaction rate.

In this context, it's important to note that while dilution lowers the concentration, it doesn't inherently change the nature of the reactants or the reaction pathway itself; it simply affects how often the molecules can interact energetically.

Other potential answers focus on either increasing concentrations or insisting that dilution has no effect. However, these claims would contradict the fundamental principles of concentration and reaction kinetics.