Rate Of Reaction Investigation D. Crowley, 2008

Rate Of Reaction Investigation Wednesday, April 19, 2017 Your task is to investigate what affects the rate of reaction between magnesium ribbon and hydrochloric acid As you complete this experiment you need to think how you can make this test a fair one, how you can be accurate and precise, and how you can ensure the results are reliable

Initial Experiment Set up an experiment with 5ml hydrochloric acid in a test tube Add a small amount of magnesium ribbon to this, and place your thumb over the top Finally take you thumb off the top, and quickly place a lit splint over top of the test tube

Magnesium + Hydrochloric Acid → Magnesium Chloride + Hydrogen Initial Experiment What caused the squeaky pop? Can you write a word / symbol equation for the reaction? Many metals react with acids – producing the gas hydrogen A burning splint is the test for this, producing a squeaky pop when it ignites Magnesium + Hydrochloric Acid → Magnesium Chloride + Hydrogen Mg + 2HCl → MgCl2 + H2

Balloon Many metals react with acids – producing the gas hydrogen A burning splint is the test for this, producing a squeaky pop when it ignites Watch the balloon hydrogen demo…

Initial Questions Different reactions can happen at different rates: - Reactions that happen slowly have a low rate of reaction Reactions that happen quickly have a high rate of reaction Initially you need to brainstorm what could affect the rate of reaction between the magnesium and the hydrochloric acid: - What does the reaction need to take place (what are the reactants) How could you compare the rate of reaction if you changed some of the independent variables

Initial Questions The rate of a reaction can be measured by measuring the rate that a reactant is used up, or by measuring the rate that a product is formed Temperature, concentration, pressure of reacting gases, surface area of reacting solids and the use of catalysts are all factors which affect the rate of a reaction *A catalyst changes the rate of a reaction, without being used up itself

Key Words During your investigation you will come across some key words: - Accurate: a measurement that is close to the true value (accuracy can be increased by controlling the key variables) Precision: this is a more precise measurement, which can be achieved by using a smaller scale Reliability: the experiment needs to be repeatable – if someone else did the experiment then they should get exactly the same results: this comes from repeating your experiment Dependent variable – what is changed by the experiment (what you are going to measure) Independent variable – what you change Control variable(s) – what you are going to keep the same, making the experiment more accurate

Introduction Initially write you introduction for the rate of reaction investigation Note your aim (what we are doing); why we are doing it and what tests which will carry out and why I.e. What does the reaction need to take place (what are the reactants)? How could you compare the rate of reaction if you changed some of the independent variables? What is it you are going to measure?

Method Your task is to now consider what methods you are going to use to measure the rate of reaction between the Mg + HCl How are you going to make your experiment: - Accurate (as close to the true value as possible) Reliable (so someone else can repeat this experiment and get similar results) Precise (how many readings are going to be taken and how can you ensure each repeat is completed in the same way) Complete a step-by-step guide to completing your experiment Note your independent variable (thing you change) and how you will change this Note your dependent variable(s), and how you will measure this What data are you collecting / recording

Method You need to complete two experiments: initially changing the mass of magnesium (experiment 1) and then changing the amount of hydrochloric acid (experiment 2) Submerge a test tube in a tub of water, ensuring the test tube is filled completely Measure the mass of magnesium (keeping all other factors the same) and add this to a conical flask with the delivery tube going into the test tube Record how long it takes for the test tube to fill up with hydrogen gas, and then repeat… For the second experiment keep everything the same (including a known mass of magnesium) but this time add different volumes of hydrochloric acid to the conical flask

Prediction What do you expect will happen when you change the independent variable Can you explain what will happen, and why you think this E.g. I think that when I change the… the… will… because… We should find a difference in the rate of reaction based on the mass of magnesium / volume of hydrochloric acid – both an increased mass and volume should increase the rate of reaction, if these are currently limiting factors

Apparatus Order Form Finally, you will need to order all the apparatus your require to carry out this experiment Ensure you have thought of everything, and just as importantly you must identify how much equipment you need – e.g. 5g magnesium ribbon; 1x conical flask; 50cm3 1M hydrochloric acid etc… Your apparatus form must be signed off before it will be given to the laboratory technicians

Results Produce a results table for the two experiments (how mass of magnesium and volume of hydrochloric acid affects the rate of reaction) Remember to include your units and how many repetitions you will be doing

Time for test tube to fill with H2 (sec) Results - Mass Mass of Mg (g) Time for test tube to fill with H2 (sec) 1 2 3 Average 4 5 etc…

Time for test tube to fill with H2 (sec) Results - Volume Volume HCl (cm3) Time for test tube to fill with H2 (sec) 10 1 2 3 Average 20 30 40 50 etc…

Experiment You have this lesson to complete your experiments Remember to be as accurate and precise as possible, repeating an appropriate amount of times and recording your results You will also need to calculate all the averages this lesson for your results

Conclusion Your task is to graph your results – one graph for the mass and one for the volume changes A scatter graph is most suitable – mass of Mg / volume of HCl on the x axis, and time taken for the test tube to fill (seconds) on the y axis Remember to add a title; units etc… Once you have drawn your graphs you need to complete an analysis – what do the results show you / why do you think this is?

Graph

Graph

Evaluation Finally you need to complete an evaluation – were there any anomalous results? What errors may have caused these: - Random error (happens occasionally) Systematic error (same mistake occurred every time (likely due to you measuring this incorrectly) How accurate was your experiment – did you consistently get the same results? Was your method fair allowing you to collect accurate results? Do you have enough reliable evidence to support the conclusion that you have made What improvements would you do if you could repeat this experiment?