CHEMICAL KINETICS : RATE REACTION

1. Objective
Study the effect of surface area of solid reactants, concentration, temperature
and catalyst toward the rate reaction
2. Theory
Consider the hypothetical reaction represented by

A B

In which A molecules are converted to B molecules.

The decrease in the number of A molecules and the increase in the number of
B molecules. It is generally convenient to express the rate in terms of the
change in concentration with time. Thus, for the reaction

A B

, we can

express the rate as

rate=

[ A ]
[B]
rate=
t
t where [A] and [B] are the changes in

concentration (molarity) over a time period t.the rate expression containing

[A]has a minus sign because the concentration of A decreases during the
time interval that is, [A]is a negative quantity. The rate expression
containing [B]does not have a minus sign because the contration of B
increases during the time interval. Rate is always a positive quantity, so when
it is expressed in terms of the change in a reactant concentration, a minus
sign is needed in the rate expression to make the rate positive. When the rate
is expressed in terms of the change in a product concentration, no negative
sign is needed to make the rate positive because the product concentration
increases with time. Rate calculated in this way are average rates ove the
time period t.
To understand rates of chemical reactions and how they are determined, it is
useful to consider some specific reactions. First, we consider the aqueous
reaction of molecular bromine (Br2) with formic acid (HCOOH)

2 H +
( aq ) +CO 2(g)
2 Br
( aq ) +
Br 2 (aq )+ HCOOH (aq)

Molecular bromine is reddish-brown, whereas all the other species in the

reaction are colorless. As the reaction proceeds, the concentration of bromine
decreases and its color fades. The decrease in intensity of the color ( and,
therefore in the concentration of bromine) can be monitored with a
spectrometer, which registers the amount of visible light absorbed by
bromine.
Measuring the bromine concentration at some initial time and then at some
final time enables us to determine the average rate of the reaction during that
time interval :

average rate=

[ Br2 ]
t

[Br 2 ]final[Br 2 ]initial

t finalt initial

(burdge, Julia.2009.Chemistry Second Edition.United States;McGraw-Hill)

In the previous exercise the concentration-time plots showed that each species in the
reaction has its own rate of change in concentration. The reactants have a negative slope,
because they are being consumed in the reaction. Products have a positive slope, because
they are being formed in the reaction. For the hypothetical example reaction
A+2B 3C
The stoichiometric coefficient for species B is twice that of species A; thus the
concentration of B will decline twice as fast as that of species A. Similarly, the
concentration of species C increases three times as fast as the concentration of A
decreases. Conceptually there should be a single, unambiguous rate for a reaction. How
might such a rate be defined given the highly varied rates of change for the various species
in the reaction?
The rate of reaction, r, is defined to be the slope of the concentration-time plot for a
species divided by the stoichiometric coefficient of that species. Additionally, if the
species is a reactant, the negative value of the slope is used, because the slope is negative
and a positive rate is desired. For the example shown above
Notice that this definition produces the same rate of reaction irrespective of which
species in the reaction is used to perform the calculation.
http://www.chm.davidson.edu/vce/Kinetics/RateOfReaction.html

Concentration Effects
Two substances cannot possibly react with each other unless their constituent particles
(molecules, atoms, or ions) come into contact. If there is no contact, the reaction rate will
be zero. Conversely, the more reactant particles that collide per unit time, the more often a
reaction between them can occur. Consequently, the reaction rate usually increases as the
concentration of the reactants increases.
Temperature Effects
Increasing the temperature of a system increases the average kinetic energy of its
constituent particles. As the average kinetic energy increases, the particles move faster
and collide more frequently per unit time and possess greater energy when they collide.
Both of these factors increase the reaction rate. Hence the reaction rate of virtually all
reactions increases with increasing temperature. Conversely, the reaction rate of virtually

all reactions decreases with decreasing temperature. For example, refrigeration retards the
rate of growth of bacteria in foods by decreasing the reaction rates of biochemical
reactions that enable bacteria to reproduce.
In systems where more than one reaction is possible, the same reactants can produce
different products under different reaction conditions. For example, in the presence of
dilute sulfuric acid and at temperatures around 100C, ethanol is converted to diethyl
ether:
2CH3CH2OH H2SO4CH3CH2OCH2CH3+H2O (14.1)
At 180C, however, a completely different reaction occurs, which produces ethylene as
the major product:
CH3CH2OH H2SO4C2H4+H2O (14.2)
Phase and Surface Area Effects
When two reactants are in the same fluid phase, their particles collide more frequently
than when one or both reactants are solids (or when they are in different fluids that do not
mix). If the reactants are uniformly dispersed in a single homogeneous solution, then the
number of collisions per unit time depends on concentration and temperature, as we have
just seen. If the reaction is heterogeneous, however, the reactants are in two different
phases, and collisions between the reactants can occur only at interfaces between phases.
The number of collisions between reactants per unit time is substantially reduced relative
to the homogeneous case, and, hence, so is the reaction rate. The reaction rate of a
heterogeneous reaction depends on the surface area of the more condensed phase.
Automobile engines use surface area effects to increase reaction rates. Gasoline is
injected into each cylinder, where it combusts on ignition by a spark from the spark plug.
The gasoline is injected in the form of microscopic droplets because in that form it has a
much larger surface area and can burn much more rapidly than if it were fed into the
cylinder as a stream. Similarly, a pile of finely divided flour burns slowly (or not at all),
but spraying finely divided flour into a flame produces a vigorous reaction.
Catalyst Effects
A catalyst is a substance that participates in a chemical reaction and increases the
reaction rate without undergoing a net chemical change itself. Consider, for example, the
decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in the presence and absence of different catalysts.
Because most catalysts are highly selective, they often determine the product of a reaction
by accelerating only one of several possible reactions that could occur.

Most of the bulk chemicals produced in industry are formed with catalyzed reactions.
Recent estimates indicate that about 30% of the gross national product of the United States
and other industrialized nations relies either directly or indirectly on the use of catalysts.
http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/Kinetics/Factors_That_Affec
t_Reaction_Rates
3. Apparatus and Reagent

1. Apparatus :
a. Analytical balance
b. Burner methylated
c. Test tube
d. Test tube clamp
2. Reagent :
a. HCl 1,5 M solution
b. Marble
c. Na2S2O3 0,15 M solution
d. H2SO40,5M solution
e. H2O2 3%

e. Graduated cylinder
f. Baeker glass
g. Erlenmeyer flask
h. Stopwatch
f. H2C2O40,05M solution
g. MnSO4 0,18M solution
h. KMnO40,01 M solution
i. FeCl3 0,5M solution
j. MnO2 powder

4.
5. Observation Sheet
a. The surface area of reactants
The occured reaction
: CaCO3(s) + 2HCl(aq) CaCl2(aq) + H2O(l) + CO2(g)

Marble

Reaction time (s)

Pieces
Powder

240
90