Experiment No. 1: Factors Affecting Reaction Rates Rojas, Venus Marie R. Ramilo, Rachelle C. Group 1, Chemistry 18.

1, TAD, Mr. Mario Rosete III. July 7, 2009

I. Abstract In a chemical reaction, reactants are converted to products. The speed at which reactants are consumed or the products are formed is the rate of reaction, the area studied in chemical kinetics. This rate of reaction is affected by several factors. The nature of the reactants determines the activation energy and therefore it also determines the rate of chemical reaction. The concentration of reactants, the temperature of the solution and the surface area of the reactants are all directly proportional to the rate of reaction. The addition of a positive catalyst to the reaction can lower the activation energy and make the reaction proceed faster. II. Keywords activation energy (Ea), catalyst, order of reaction, rate law, rate constant, Arrhenius equation

III. Introduction The rate of a chemical reaction is the change in the concentration of reactants or products over time (M/s). Every reaction has specific activation energy (Ea), which is the minimum amount of energy required to initiate a chemical reaction. There are two theories regarding the reaction rate. First is the Collision theory which states that for a chemical reaction to take place, the reactants must collide effectively. This effective collision will only happen if two conditions have been met: proper orientation and sufficient energy (total kinetic energy equal to or greater than the activation energy). The second theory is the Transition State theory. It states that an activated complex or a temporary species is formed by the reactant molecules as a result of the collision before they form the product. There are several factors reaction. First is the nature compounds have different reactive the reactants are faster is the rate of reaction. affecting the rate of of reactants. Different reactivity. The more with each other, the

of the activation energy and can be recovered unchanged at the end of the reaction. IV. Experimental Part A. Nature of Reactants Two test tubes were labeled A and B and each were added with 3mL water. A strip of Mg ribbon was added to test tube A and a piece of Na was added to B. The two test tubes were then observed. Part B. Concentration of Reactants A white paper was marked with X and a 10 mL beaker was placed on top of it. Then 5mL of 0.15 M Na2S2O3 was poured into the beaker. It was noted that the X mark was clearly seen through the solution. One milliliter (1mL) of 3M HCl was then added to the solution and the time it took for the X mark to no longer be visible was noted. The same procedure was repeated using the following concentrations of Na2S2O3 and HCl.
Table 1. Concentration of Na2S2O3 and HCl 0.15 M Na2S2O3 H2O (mL) 3M HCl (mL) (mL) 4 1 1 3 2 1 2 3 1 1 4 1 5 0 2.5 5 0.5 2 5 1 1.5 5 1.5 1 5 2 0.5

The second is the concentration of the reactants. This can be expressed through the rate law, which shows the relationship of the rate of reaction to the rate constant and the concentration of reactants raised to some powers. Temperature also affects the rate of reaction. An increase in temperature increases the rate of the reaction. Another factor is the surface area which is directly proportional to the rate of reaction. The last factor is the addition of a catalyst. a catalyst speeds up a reaction usually by lowering the value Chemistry 18.1, Chemical Kinetics

Page 1

Part C. Temperature Two test tubes were prepared. The first tube was placed with 5mL 0.15 M Na2S2O3 while the second tube contained 7.5 mL H2O and 2 mL 3M HCl. Both test tubes were immersed in a water bath of tap water for 5 minutes, taking note of the temperature. The reagents were then mixed in a 50 mL beaker placed on top of a white paper marked with an X. The reaction was again timed. The same procedure was repeated using two different temperatures, one being 22C and the other was 12C. Part D. Surface Area Two identical strips of Mg ribbon were obtained and the other one was cut into small pieces. The strips and the pieces of Mg were each placed in different test tubes and 3M HCl solution was placed in each. Part E. Catalyst In a test tube, 5mL of 3% H2O2 and 1 gram of Rochelle salt (sodium potassium tartrate) were placed. The solution was then heated slowly. In another test tube, 3% H2O2, 1 gram Rochelle salt (sodium potassium tartrate) and a pinch of CoCl2 were added. The solution was also heated slowly. The observations on both reactions were then recorded. V. Results Part A. Nature of Reactants Reaction A (Mg + water): no visible reaction Reaction B (Na + water): evolution of gas Part B. Concentration of Reactants
Table 2. At constant [HCl]
[Na2S2O3] [HCl] ln [Na2S2O3]

0.1 0.1 0.1

0.6 0.4 0.2

-0.511 -0.916 -1.609

13.5 2 14.1 7 15.5 3

7.40 x 10-02 7.06 x 10-02 6.44 x 10-02

-2.604 -2.651 -2.743

Part C. Temperature
Table 4. Effect of temperature on the rate of reaction Time Rate Temp 1/T (K) k ln k (C) (s) (1/time) -3 -2 -1 3.26 x 10 31.45 3.18 x 10 6.15 x 10 -0.486 33.5 22 12
3.39 x 10-3 3.51 x 10
-3

44.15 91.48

2.27 x 10-2 1.09 x 10

-2

4.38 x 10-1 5.11 x 10-1

-0.825 -0. 671

Part D. Surface Area Reaction A (strip of Mg): evolution of gas which subsided after 20.23 seconds Reaction B (pieces of Mg): evolution of gas which subsided after 20.03 seconds Part E. Catalyst Reaction A (H2O2+Rochelle salt): slow evolution of gas; oily light yellow color, exothermic reaction Reaction B (H2O2 + Rochelle salt + CoCl2): fast evolution of gas; color transition: gray to green to clear to light pink; exothermic reaction VI. Discussion Part A. Nature of the Reactants At room temperature, sodium readily reacted with water while magnesium did not. This manifests that sodium is more reactive than magnesium. From this observation it can be concluded that the activation energy for the reaction of magnesium with water is greater than that of sodium and water.
ln Rate -2.706 -2.926 -3.258 -4.413

time 14.97 18.66 26 82.48

0.1 0.075 0.05 0.025

0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

-2.303 -2.590 -2.996 -3.689

Rate (1/time) 6.68 x 10-2 5.36 x 10-2 3.85 x 10-2 1.21 x 10-2

Table 3. At constant [Na2S2O3] [HCl ln [Na2S2O3] time ] [HCl] 13.0 0.1 1 0 2 13.0 0.1 0.8 -0.223 9

Rate (1/time) 7.68 x 10-02 7.64 x 10-02

ln Rate -2.566 -2.572

Chemistry 18.1, Chemical Kinetics

Page 2

Figure 1. Energy Profile for reaction of Na and water and the reaction of Mg and water Generally, reactions that do not involve breaking of bonds, such as ions in aqueous solutions, proceed faster while those between covalently bonded molecules are slower. Part B. Concentration of Reactants The Collision theory, one of the two theories in chemical kinetics, states that reactions occur as a result of molecular collisions of the reacting molecules. Therefore the number of collisions is directly proportional to the rate of reaction. If the concentration of the reactants in a reaction is increased, it follows that the frequency of collisions between reacting molecules is increased thus increasing the rate of reaction. The rate of reaction is then proportional to the concentration of reactants. The effect of the concentration of the reactants can be expressed through the rate law. Each reactant has a specific order in relation to the whole reaction. The sum of all the orders of the reactants is the overall order of the reaction. Reactants in the zeroth order do not affect the rate of reaction. From the data in the experiment, the order of the reaction was obtained. Rate = k [Na2S2O3]x[HCl]y At constant [HCl]: logRate = logk[HCl]y + xlog[Na2S2O3] r= 0.98195 x1 Therefore the reaction is first order with respect to Na2S2O3.

Figure 2. Graph of lnRate vs. ln[Na2S2O3] at constant [[[[[p[[[ [HCl] j[H[HCl] At constant [Na2S2O3]: logRate = logk[Na2S2O3]x + ylog[HCl] r = 0.99129 y0 Therefore the reaction is zeroth order with respect to [HCl]. The change in concentration of HCl does not affect the rate of reaction. The overall order of the reaction between Na2S2O3 and HCl is first order. The rate law for the reaction is Rate = k [Na2S2O3]

Figure 3. Figure 2. Graph of lnRate vs. ln[HCl] at constant [Na2S2O3] logRate = logk[Na2S2O3]+ log[HCl]0 logk = slope = 0.1165 k = antilog 0.1165 = 1.3 Part C. Temperature

Chemistry 18.1, Chemical Kinetics

Page 3

An increase in the temperature increases the kinetic energy of the reactants. This makes the reaction proceed faster since there would be greater probability of collision between reactant molecules. This is explained in the Collision theory, which said that aside from collision, enough energy must be possessed by colliding reactants to initiate a reaction. The rate constant of a certain reaction, k, has a specific value for a given temperature. Its dependence on temperature can be expressed by the following equation, known as the Arrhenius equation: k = Ae-Ea/RT lnk = (-Ea/R)(1/T) + lnA The rate constant decreases with increasing activation energy and increases with increasing temperature.

In the experiment, CoCl2 served as the positive catalyst. It hastened the reaction between H2O2 and Rochelle salt by lowering the activation energy. At the end of the reaction CoCl2, being the catalyst, was not consumed. Specifically, CoCl2 is a heterogeneous catalyst. It becomes the site of reaction since the reactants attach to its surface, which weakens the bonds within reacting molecules making them more reactive. After the product is formed, the reactants break-free from the CoCl2. The reaction between hydrogen peroxide and Rochelle salt is given by the following equation: 3H2O2(l) + KNaC4H4O6(s) 4H2O(l) + 2CO2(g) + 2HCO-2(aq) + Na+(aq) + K-(aq)

VII. Conclusion The rate of a reaction is affected by several factors. 1. Reactants that are by nature reactive make the rate of reaction faster. 2. The increase in concentration of reactants affects reaction rate since it increases the frequency of collisions between molecules. 3. Increase in temperature of reactants increases the rate of the reaction since it increases the frequency of collision between reactants. 4. Increase in surface area increases reaction rate since there will be more reactant particles available for collision. 5. A positive catalyst increases the rate of the reaction by cutting the reaction into steps with lower activation energy. IX. References Chang, R. (2005). Chemistry, Eighth Edition. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

Figure 1. Graph of 1/T vs. ln k Given the data from the reaction of Na2S2O3 and HCl, the activation energy can be obtained with the use of the Arrhenius equation. ln k = lnA (Ea/R)(1/T) Ea/R = -4,248.72 Ea = 35.324 kJ/mol Part D. Surface Area The reaction of a whole strip of Mg with HCl was slower than that of the Mg strip cut into pieces. This is because the surface area of the small pieces of Mg was greater; therefore there were more reacting molecules available for collision. Part E. Catalyst

Engle, H. L., Learning Chemistry Philippines

& Ilao, L. V. (2002). Modules in General II . University of the Manila.

I hereby certify that I have given substantial contribution to this report.

Chemistry 18.1, Chemical Kinetics

Page 4

________________________________ Rachelle C. Ramilo

________________________________ Venus Marie R. Rojas

Chemistry 18.1, Chemical Kinetics

Page 5