DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

CHE 244
EXPERIMENT NO: 1

EXPERIMENT TITLE: INVESTIGING THE EFFECTS OF A CATALYST ON THE RATE

OF A CHEMICAL REACTION

Surname: Kgosiemang

First name: Patrinah

ID number: 202001727

LAB DAY: WEDNESDAY (GROUP B)

Date of the experiment: 23 January 2022

Partners name and ID:

AIM

The aim of this experiment is to determine the effect of a catalyst on the rate of the reaction of
iodide ion, I` (aq), with the peroxodisulphate ion, S2O82- (aq).

PRE-LAB QUESTIONS

1.What is the effect of a catalyst on a chemical reaction?

A catalyst remain chemically unchanged at the end of reaction. A positive catalyst increases the
rate at which a chemical reaction occurs by decreasing the activation energy while a negative
catalyst decreases the rate at which a chemical reaction occurs by increasing the activation
energy.

2. i) write the Arrhenius equation in both it’s normal and logarithmic forms, define all the terms.

Where k= rate constant

A = frequency factor (same unit as k)

Ea = activation energy (in J mol-1)

R = universal gas constant (8.314 J mol-1 K-1)

T = absolute temperature (K)

ii) use the Arrhenius equation to explain the effect of an increase in temperature on the rate of a
reaction.

The Arrhenius equation can be used to show the effect of change of temperature on the rate
constant and therefore on the rate of the reaction for example if the rate constant doubles the rate
of the reaction will also doubles.
 iii) From the Arrhenius equation, what effect would a lowering of activation energy have on
the rate of a chemical reaction?

Decreasing the activation energy will result in an increase in the rate of the reaction and an

exponential increase in the rate constant.

3. For a reaction at 303K with activation energy of 58 KJ/mol, by what factor will the rate
constant change when the temperature rises by 10oC?

The rate constant will increase by a factor of two because the rate of the reaction doubles when
the temperature increases by 10⁰C.

PROCEDURE
Four water baths were set at temperatures of 30oC, 35oC, 40oC and 45oC. One pair worked on the
uncatalysed reaction (part A) while the other worked on the catalysed one (part B). For part A
two mixtures were prepared in separate labelled conical flasks. Solution A had 10mL of 0.2M
KI, 10mL of 0.01M Na2S2O3, 5mL of 0.2% starch solution and 1mL of distilled water. While
Solution B only had 20mL of 0.09M K2S2O8. The two solution were allowed to come to
equilibrium at room temperature. The two solutions were then mixed to start the reaction, the
clock was started as soon as the solutions were mixed. The time, t, was recorded as the colour
appeared. That was proportional to the rate of reaction. The actual temperature at which the
reaction occurred was as well recorded. The above steps were then repeated for each of the four
temperatures in water baths. After mixing the two solutions the mixture was left in the water bath
until colour change was observed. Then the actual temperature of the reaction was recorded. For
the catalyzed reaction (part B) the above processes was repeated but 1mL of 0.01M FeSO 4
solution was added as a catalyst instead of 1mL of distilled water, to solution A.
ANALYSIS OF DATA

Table 1: data for uncatalyzed reaction

T (oC) T (K) 1/T (K-¹) t (s) 1/t (s-¹) In(1/t)

24.6 297.6 0.00336 180.24 0.006 -5.11
29.9 308.9 0.00323 101.35 0.010 -4.60
35.9 308.3 0.00324 87.41 0.011 -4.50
39.8 312.8 0.00320 53.20 0.019 -3.96
43.8 316.8 0.00316 42.80 0.023 -3.77

SAMPLE CALCULATIONS: TABLE 1

T (K) =24.6 + 273 = 297.6

1/T(K`¹) = 1/297.6 = 0.003360215

1/t (s`¹) = 1/180.4 = 0.005543237

In(1/t) = In(0.005543237) = -5.195176608

GRAPH FOR UNCATALYZED REACTION

1/T
0.0034

0.00336
0.00335

0.0033

0.00325
0.00324 1/T
0.00323
Linear (1/T)
0.0032 0.0032

0.00316
0.00315

0.0031

0.00305
-5.1068 -4.6 -4.5 -3.66 -3.77

ln(1/t)

 Slope= 0.256

the slope gave the natural log of the frequency factor (InA)
 Ea = (InA – In k)* RT
Ea = [0.256(0.00310) + 4.09)* 8.314*308.3]
Ea = 10 485.54752mol-1

Table 2: data for catalyzed reaction

T (oC) T (K) 1/T (K-¹) t (s) 1/t (s-¹) In(1/t)

24.4 297.4 0.00336 63.81 0.016 -4.16
30.0 303.0 0.00330 56.26 0.018 -4.03
34.8 307.8 0.00325 42.91 0.023 -3.76
39.8 312.8 0.00320 38.34 0.026 -3.65
45.1 318.1 0.00314 27.51 0.036 -3.31

SAMPLE CALCULATION: TABLE 2

T (K) = 30.0 + 273 = 303

1/T(K`¹) = 1/303.0 = 0.00330

1/t (s`¹) = 1/56.26

= 0.017774617

In(1/t) = In(0.017774617) = -4.029983803~0.018

-3
Graph for catalyzed reaction
-3.1

-3.2

-3.3 -3.31
-3.4 f(x) = 0.208 x − 4.406
R² = 0.972049968544981
-3.5
1/t)
In(

-3.6
-3.65
-3.7
-3.76
-3.8

-3.9

-4
-4.03
-4.1
-4.16
-4.2
0.00336 0.0033 0.00325 0.0032 0.00314

1/T
  Slope= 0.208

 Ea = (InA – In k)* RT
Ea = [0.208(0.00325) + 3.76)* 8.314*307.8]
Ea = 9 623.75 J mol-1

DISCUSSION

These results were more précised and less accurate. The possible sources of errors in this
experiment are the instrumental error which was cause by improper calibration of the
instruments like pipettes used to measure solutions. One other possible source of error could
have been the reagent error, this was whereby the reagent samples used were contaminated or
impure thus altering the accuracy of the results. One more source of error could have been the
environmental error which was caused by general environmental factors. During the experiment
temperatures were high about 29 to 30 degrees Celsius which altered the results of experiments
that were supposed to be carried out at room temperature.

CONCLUSION

A catalyst increased the rate of the reaction of iodide ion, I` (aq), with the peroxodisulphate ion,
S 2O82-(aq). By lowering the activation energy from 10 485.54752mol to 9 623.75 J mol-1.

REFERENCES