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Lab 7 - Reaction Rates

A useful lab to study the effect of temperature and concentration on the rate of a chemical reaction.

Uploaded by

William Fung
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
16 views

Lab 7 - Reaction Rates

A useful lab to study the effect of temperature and concentration on the rate of a chemical reaction.

Uploaded by

William Fung
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Reaction Rates

Purpose:

Materials:
Sodium thiosulfate 250 ml beaker Hydrochloric acid
Test tube brush Goggles* Stirring rod
2 test tubes Thermometer 2 graduated cylinders
Distilled water Stopwatch Hot water
Crushed ice 150 ml beakers

Pre-Lab
1) Make two tables for recording your data, one for Part I: the effect of concentration on
reaction rate and another for Part II: the effect of temperature on reaction rate.
2) What chemicals in this lab are dangerous to work with? What do you do if you get a
dangerous chemical on your skin?
3) What should you do when you enter the lab? Where does your bookbag go? What do
you need to have out? What safety gear should you put on?
4) Write a summary of the lab procedure in your own words.

Part I: The effect of concentration on reaction rate.

We will use the reaction below to study the effects of concentration and temperature on the rate
of reaction.

Na2S2O3 + 2HCl --------> H2SO3 + S + 2NaCl


sodium thiosulfate hydrochloric acid hydrogen sulfite sulfur sodium chloride

The sulfur that is formed in the reaction does not dissolve in water and thus forms a cloudy
precipitate. The faster the reaction proceeds, the faster the solution will become cloudy.

1. Using a graduated cylinder, measure out 10 ml of sodium thiosulfate solution and pour it
into a 150 mL beaker. Take the temperature of the solution, and record it. Place the beaker on
top of a printed page so you can read the print through the bottom. This solution, as taken
straight from the stock bottle, will be called "1X". This means it is full strength. When the
solution is diluted to a lower concentration, it is called 0.5X, 0.25X, etc.

2. Using the other graduated cylinder, measure out 10 ml of hydrochloric acid. While one
partner pours it into the beaker with the sodium thiosulfate and stirs, the other partner should
time the reaction. Be sure to time from the moment the acid is first poured.

3. Time the reaction until the precipitate is thick enough to make the print on the page
unreadable through the liquid. Record your result in a table.

4. Carefully wash out and rinse your beaker, graduated cylinder and stirring rod with
soap in order to avoid contamination.

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5. Repeat steps 1 - 4, except this time use 10 ml of 0.75 X sodium thiosulfate. In other words,
combine 7.5 ml of sodium thiosulfate with 2.5 ml of distilled water (instead of 10 ml of sodium
thiosulfate). Use 10 ml of HCl as before. Record your results in the table.

6. Repeat steps 1 - 4, using 0.5X Na2S2O3 and record your results in the table.

7. Repeat steps 1 - 4, using 0.25X Na2S2O3 and record your results in the table.

8. Prepare a graph of reaction time versus concentration, using your results from steps 1-7.
Remember to put the independent variable on the horizontal axis. Then draw a best-fit line
illustrating the trend in the data.

Q1. What is the effect of varying reactant concentration on the rate of


a chemical reaction?

Part II: The effect of temperature on reaction rates.


1. Repeat steps 1 - 4 of part I, except this time place the two full strength solutions of sodium
thiosulfate and hydrochloric acid in separate test tubes. Put these test tubes in an ice water bath,
and place a thermometer into the 1X sodium thiosulfate solution. When the temperature of this
solution drops to between 10oC and 15oC, mix the solutions in the beaker, and time the
reaction. Record your results in a new table, being sure to include the temperature of the 1X
sodium thiosulfate solution just prior to mixing.

2. Repeat step 1 above, except keep the two solutions in a hot water bath. Once again, place
the thermometer into the 1X sodium thiosulfate solution. When the temperature rises to 35oC,
mix the solutions, and time the reaction. Record your results, including the temperature of the
1X sodium thiosulfate solution just prior to mixing.

3. Use your data from part I step 2 (1X solution) as a measurement of the room-temperature
reaction rate.

4. Prepare a graph (scatter plot) of reaction time versus temperature based on your results in
steps 1 - 3. Then draw a best-fit line or curve illustrating the trend in the data.

Q2. What is the effect of temperature on the rate of reaction?

Conclusions:
C1. Using your graph of reaction time versus temperature, explain how you could
estimate the reaction rate at 30oC without actually carrying out the reaction. How long
would the reaction take? Show this on your graph.

C2. Collision theory states that chemical reactions result from collisions of individual
molecules. Using this and your knowledge of the kinetic-molecular theory of heat,
explain your results from parts I and II.

C3. There are times when chemical reactions proceed so slowly that a way must be found
to speed them up. In contrast, some reactions occur so quickly and so violently that ways

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must be found to slow them down. Explain how the results of today's lab could be used to
do each of these.

C4. What are some other factors, not investigated today, which you think could be used
to change the rate of reaction? Explain your answer.

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