I know heat speeds reactions up but "the particles move faster" doesn't feel like a full answer.
Accepted answer
"Moving faster" is only half of it. **Collision theory** says a reaction needs particles to collide **and** for that collision to carry at least the **activation energy** — the minimum needed to break the existing bonds.
Heating does two things:
1. **More frequent collisions.** Faster particles meet more often.
2. **A larger fraction of collisions are successful.** More particles now exceed the activation energy.
The second effect is much bigger, and it's the one that earns the mark. A modest temperature rise increases collision frequency only slightly, but shifts a large share of particles past the activation-energy threshold.
The same framework explains the other rate factors: higher **concentration** or **pressure** packs particles closer (more frequent collisions); larger **surface area** exposes more particles to collide with; a **catalyst** lowers the activation energy itself, so more existing collisions succeed without any heating.