the surface
When a solid substance is involved in a chemical reaction, only the matter at the surface of the solid is exposed to other reactants. If a solid has more surface area, more of it is exposed and able to react. Therefore, increasing the surface area of solid reactants increases the reaction rate. For example, crushing a solid into a powder exposes more of the substance to other reactants. This may greatly speed up the reaction. You can see another example in Figure below . Iron rusts when it combines with oxygen in the air. The iron hammer head and iron nails will both rust eventually. Which will rust faster?.