gcsescience.com                                          3                                          gcsescience.com

Rates of Reaction

Measuring the Rate.

The rate of a reaction may be measured by following
the loss of a reactant, or the formation of a product.

Three of the reactions which may be studied
to show how the rate can be changed are shown below.

They are

1) The reaction between calcium carbonate and dilute hydrochloric acid.
2) The reaction between sodium thiosulfate solution and hydrochloric acid.
3) The decomposition of hydrogen peroxide solution.

1) The reaction between calcium carbonate and dilute hydrochloric acid.

HCl + calcium carbonate calcium chloride + carbon dioxide + water.
HCl_(aq)    +       CaCO_3(s)                  CaCl_2(aq)      +    CO_2(g)    +     H₂O_(l)

The rate of this reaction can be measured
by following the rate at which carbon dioxide is formed.

This can be done by conducting the reaction
in an open flask on an electric balance (weighing machine).
As the carbon dioxide escapes to the air, the mass of the flask will decrease.
You can take a reading from the balance every 30 seconds,
then plot a graph of loss of mass against time.

The gradient of the plot (the steepness of the slope)
shows the rate of the reaction (how fast it is going).

See increasing the surface area.

              Headings              Search              Questions              

gcsescience.com   Contents    The Periodic Table    Index    Quizzes   gcsescience.com

Copyright © 2008 Dr. Colin France. All Rights Reserved.