Rate Of Reaction Investigation

An Experiment into the Effect of Concentration on Rate of Reaction

Introduction:

A chemical reaction is when two or more substance called reactants are chemically bonded to form a new product, as a result of the process, for a reaction to take place, the particles must have enough kinetic energy to collide and form new bonds , this is called a successful collision. The minimum amount of energy needed for a successful collision is activation energy. The activation energy is able to loosen particles and enable them to form new bonds to produce new products. The more the molecules there are the bigger the chance of a successful collision, so the faster the reaction will be.

The rate of reaction is the speed a chemical reaction takes to react

The units of concentration are mol/dm3. The formula is the number of moles of solute divided by the volume of solution.

The collision theory states that for a reaction to occur the reactant particles must collide. In a solution the particles move at different speeds. If 2 particles collide with enough energy the will be a chemical reaction and a product will be formed, this is known as the collision theory.

High concentrations imply that more reacting molecules are at high proximity to each other therefore intermolecular collisions are frequent therefore forming products frequently. To measure, the effect of each of above factors, one has to hold some factors constant during rate reaction experimentation.

Therefore, this study intends to investigate the effect of concentration and surface area of reactants on the rate of chemical reactions. I am doing this experiment to gain the knowledge of the effects of concentration levels on the rate of reaction. This can help me understand better what affects the rate of reaction and how changing concentration levels will help increase the rate of reaction.

Magnesium Metal (ribbon) reacts with hydrochloric acid to form Magnesium Chloride salt, and releases hydrogen gas. The equation is stated

Clean the Magnesium ribbon using a sandpaper to remove oxides coating its surface. This will reduce reaction errors related to impurities.

Cut 9 equal sizes (3 cm) pieces of Magnesium from the cleaned Magnesium ribbon, weigh each of them using a digital weighing balance and record weights.

Wrap the magnesium pieces in plastic bag to prevent them from being re-oxidized.

Measure 10 ml of .5M HCl (measure from meniscus) using a pipette into a clean dry measuring cylinder and pour into a clean 100 ml conical flask.

Repeat step 5 and 6 for 1M and 2M HCL and keep all the acids ready away from working bench to avoid spills during experiment.

Reset your stopwatch timer and prepare a gas delivery system including water bath as shown in apparatus below.

Pick one piece of Magnesium ribbon drop in the first prepared acid in the conical flask and immediately start your stopwatch.

Immediately cork the flask with rubber bung to the prepared gas delivery system.

Monitor the reaction progress closely and record data for 3 (180 seconds) minutes every 10