Title: Exploring Reaction Rates Authors: Lauren Parker*, Serah Wiedenhoefer (* - Primary Author) Introduction: Pollution is a crucial issue that many scientists continue to have trouble understanding. While there is a basic understanding of polluting events such as smog and ozone emissions, little is known about the details of how these incidents occur. However, researchers have recently made a breakthrough in comprehending the origins of these events as well as what type of factors influence said events. In this experiment, the chemistry behind reaction rates is explored in order to better understand how pollutant compounds are consumed as well as formed. Materials and Methods: In experiment one, the work area of the lab was divided …show more content…
This indicated that a reaction occurred. If a six was rolled for the A pile, no pieces of paper would be moved, indicating that no reaction occurred. The rules were similar for the “B” pile. If a number one through six was rolled, no papers would be moved from pile B, thus indicating there was no reaction. If a six was rolled for pile B, this meant a reaction had occurred and one piece of paper would be moved from pile B into pile C. Together, the dice rolls for piles A and B represented one unit of time passing. After each roll of the two dice, the amount of paper in each pile was counted and consequently recorded. This process was repeated until all reactant papers had reached pile C, indicating the reaction had gone to completion. For this experiment, 56 units of time had passed before the reaction had reached completion. In experiment two, three regions of the lab were once again designated to be regions “A”, “B”, and “C”. The same 10 pieces of paper utilized before were then placed in pile A to represent reaction molecules. Once two dice had been gathered, each one was rolled to determine how the reaction would proceed. The rules for this …show more content…
To help comprehend this equation, it can also be expressed as a function of the change of concentration with the change in time. These are called differential rate expressions. The differential rate expression for A can be written as d[A]/dt= -k1[A], where the d stands for Delta and the A surrounded by brackets represents the concentration of A. In the above equation, there is a negative sign in front of the rate constant k1. This is because as time passes, the value of A declines and the negative sign represents that the amount of A is decreasing. The differential rate expression for B can be written in two different ways. This is because B is an intermediate, meaning it is produced and then used. One way in which this rate expression can be written is d[B]/dt. This represents the rate of formation of B, seeing as how the expression is positive, indicating that the amount of B is increasing. The differential rate expression can also be written as –d[B]/dt, representing the rate of consumption of B seeing as how the negative sign indicates a decrease in the amount of B. Lastly, C’s differential rate expression can be written as d[C]/dt= k2[B], the positive value of the expression suggesting that the amount of C is increasing. The reaction ABC is slightly different in experiment one and