Introduction

Determination of rates of reaction can be done in several ways. You may monitor the rate

of a reaction by measuring the concentration of products over time or the disappearance of

reactants over time. An indication of reaction progresses over time is the rate law of the reaction.

The rate law is an expression it indicates that the rate depends on the concentrations of the

reactants. For example A + B----> C; the rate law of this reaction is Rate = k[A]m [B]n, where k

is the rate constant for the reaction, m is the order with respect to reactant A and n is the order

with respect to reactant B (Nivaldo, et al., 2014). This this lab the kinetics of a decomposition
– –
reaction between Crystal Violet (CV)and NaOH (OH )will be studied: C25H30ClN3(aq) + OH

(aq) → products. We will be focusing on the concentrations of the reactants, determining their

reaction orders by first obtaining a calibration curve relating various concentrations of CV and

the absorbance and using the equation of the linear relationship as a basis for further calculations,

and to convert between absorbance and the concentration of CV. The CV absorbs visible light

with a maximum absorbance at a wavelength of about 595 nm. Absorbance will be monitored

using a calibrated Spectrometer set at a wavelength of 595nm. The reason we used CV to

monitor absorbance is because other reactant and products do not absorb visible light in the

decomposition reaction. The fading of CV will be observed as it decomposes and the

measurement of absorbance over increments of 30 seconds will be documented.