Title: the effect of the concentration of hydrochloric acid on the reaction rate

Equation: ____________________________________________________________________

Aim: to observe the effect of the concentration of hydrochloric acid on the reaction rate.

Hypothesis: If the concentration of hydrochloric acid increases, the reaction rate will increase.

Variables:

 Independent - Concentration of hydrochloric acid

o Measured using the measuring cylinder
 Dependent – reaction rate - mL/secs (mL of gas (CO2) per second)
o Measured using the syringe (measure how much gas is produced after 20 secs)
o Measured using stopwatch (time 20 secs)
 Controlled – volume of hydrochloric acid each trial: 20mL
o Measured using a measuring cylinder
 Controlled - 20 secs for each trial
o Measured using a stopwatch
 Controlled – 3g marble chips
o Measured using a scale

Safety:

Hazards
 Hydrochloric acid is corrosive to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes. Acute (short-
term) inhalation exposure may cause eye, nose, and respiratory tract irritation and
inflammation and pulmonary edema in humans.
Precautions
 Avoid contact with skin, eyes, and clothing.
 Wash hands immediately after handling hydrochloric acid.
 Hand Protection - Chemical-resistant gloves (e.g., nitrile or neoprene) should be worn.
 Apron to protect clothing.
 Wear glasses for eye protection
First Aid
 Flush your skin of the hydrochloric acid by running cool water over the affected area for 10
minutes. Remove any clothing or jewellery that came in contain with the acid. Cover your
burn with a sterile gauze bandage. Flush the area again if needed.

Equipment:

 Marble chips (calcium carbonate)

 Hydrochloric acid (aq) (0.5 mol/L 1 mol/L, 1.5 mol/L, 2.0 mol/L, 2.5 mol/L)
 Measuring cylinders (various sizes)
 Conical flasks, stoppers, and delivery tubes
 Balance
 Stopwatch
 Gas syringes
 spatula
Initial Method

1. Set up the equipment up as shown in the diagram

2. Measure 50 mL of 0.5 mol L and pour it into a measuring cylinder.
3. Measure 25 g of marble chips on a scale
4. Add chips and HCl to the flask and quickly replace the stopper
5. Start the stopwatch and after 25 seconds record the volume of gas that has collected in the
stopper.
6. Repeat this three times for each concentration of gas. (In total 15 times)

Preliminary Trial

Title: the effect of the concentration of hydrochloric acid on the volume of carbon dioxide produced

Concentration of Volume of Carbon dioxide gas produced (mL)

HCl acid (mol L-1)
0.5 7
1 27
1.5 35
2.0 50
2.5 60

Description of trials:

 The amounts were too much for the measuring equipment available, and we did not need
such large quantities of reactants
 We discovered that the quantities needed to be decreased by a large amount because 2.0
mol/L and 2.5 mol/L could not be measured by the syringe, as the reaction was too fast and
large
 The time did not need to be 25 seconds, because the concentration of 2.0 mol/L and 2.5
mol/L went far beyond the maximum marking on the syringe
 The fizzing during the reaction for 0.5 mol/L was minimal, and the syringe moved very
slowly, and did not collect much gas
 The fizzing during the reaction for 1.5 mol/L and onwards were vigorous, the syringe moved
faster than we expected, so we had to have someone catching the syringe stopper.

Adjustments:
  20 mls of HCl not 50
 3 grams not 25
 Reduce time to 20s not 25 s

Method

1. Set up the equipment up as shown in the diagram

2. Measure 20mL of 0.5 mol L and pour it into a measuring cylinder.
3. Measure 3g of marble chips on a scale
4. Add chips to the flask
5. Pour in the HCl to the flask and quickly replace the stopper
6. Start the stopwatch and afteri0 seconds, record the volume of gas that has collected in the
stopper.
7. Repeat steps 2-5 three times for each concentration of gas. (Three trials each for 0.5 mol/L,
1.0 mol/L, 1.5 mol/L, 2.0 mol/L, 2.5 mol/L)

RESULTS

Observations

A white solid is added to a clear colourless liquid. The solid decreases in size. A clear colourless liquid
remains and a colourless gas is produced. (For all reactions)

 0.5 mol/L – minimal fizzing, syringe moved very slowly

 1.0 mol/L – slightly more fizzing, syringe moved faster than the previous concentration
 1.5 mol/L – moderate fizzing, syringe moved quite fast
 2.0 mol/L – vigorous fizzing, syringe moved fast
 2.5 mol/L – very vigorous fizzing, syringe moved very fast, and went beyond the maximum
marking on the syringe
o 0.5 mol/L: 3.7/20 = 0.2

Table
Title: the effect of the concentration of hydrochloric acid on the volume of gas produced and the
reaction rate
Concentration Volume of carbon dioxide gas produced (mL) Reaction rate
of HCl acid Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average (mL/s)
(mol/L)
0.5 3.5 4 3.5 3.7 0.2
1.0 15.5 16 17 16.2 0.8
1.5 39.5 39.5 34 37.7 1.9
2.0 50 54 48 50.7 2.5
2.5 56 55 58 56.3 2.8

Reaction rate: average mL of gas produced/time in seconds

 0.5 mol/L: 3.7/20 = 0.2

 1.0 mol/L: 16.2/20 = 0.8
 1.5 mol/L: 37.7/20 = 1.9
 2.0 mol/L: 50.7/20 = 2.5
 2.5 mol/L: 56.3/20 = 2.8

Graph

EVALUATION

Precision
The trials for the acid of 0.5 mol/L produced precise results. The second trial produced 4 mL of gas,
while trials 1 and 3 both produced 3.5 mL of gas. The results for this particlar concentration are
precise, as there is only a maximum difference of 1 mL between the trials.

The trials for the acid of 1.0 mol/L produced moderately precise results. Every trial produced more
gas than the previous trial. The results for this particluar concentration are relatively precise, as there
is only a maximum of 1 mL difference between the results.

The trials for the acid of 1.5 mol/L produced moderately precise results. The frist and second trial
produced the exact same amount of gas at 39.5 mL, however the last trial produced significantly less
than the first two trials with only 34 mL. The avergae of these results are not very precise, as the last
trial was 4.5 mL lower than the previous two trials.

The trials for the acid of 2.0 mol/L produced imprecise results. The difference between the first two
trials was 4 mL, and the difference between the second and third trials was 6 mL, and the difference
between the first and third trials, was 2 mL. The average result is not very precise, as there is a
significant difference in the resulting amount of gas produced.

The trials for the acid of 2.5 mol/L produced moderately precise results. The difference between the
first two trials was only 1 mL, the difference between the second and third trials was 3 mL, and the
difference between the first and third trials was 2 mL. The results of the trials did vary, but less
significantly.

Outliers in these results are trial 3 for the concentration of 1.5 mol/L, and trial 2 for the
concentration of 2.0 mol/L. The first outlier could have been due to delayed reaction times when
starting and stopping the timer and residual water that remained in the flask that may have diluted
the hydrochloric acid and decreased the size of the reaction and the amount of products produced.
The second outlier may be have been due to there being an increased amount of powder in the
calcium carbonate, which increased the surface area of the reactant and created a larger reaction.

The data is fairly reliable, as each degree of concentration of hydrochloric acid was repeated three
times, to try and eliminate errors and mistakes. However in order to increase the reliability of the
results, more trials would need to be conducted.

Trends and collision theory

According to our results, as the concentration of hydrochloric acid increaed, the reaction rate also
increased. A line of best fit was drawn, and it showed a positiver trend.

The rate of reaction depends on the frequency of successful collision. Four major factors affect rate
of reaction; concentration, temperature, surface area of reactants, and catalysts. In this experiment
there are no catalysts, so it does not apply here.

For a successful reaction to occur, reactant particles must collide with each other with the minimum
amount of kinetic energy (the activation energy) and form products. The activation evergy is needed
to break chemical bonds between the reactant particles. In this experiment the activation energy is
needed to break the chemical bonds between the calcium and carbonate particles in the calcium
carbonate, and to break the chemical bonds between the hydrogen and chloride particles in the
hydrochloric acid. The products formed as a result of this chemical reaction are calcium chloride,
water and carbon dioxide.

The rate of reaction will increase if the particles collide more frequently – this means that there is an
increased number of collisions per second. The rate of reaction will also increase if the particles
collide with greater kinetic energy.

An increased number of collisions can be brought about by increasing the concentration of reactants.
Increasing the concentration increases the number of particles in a fixed volume. This increases
frequency of collisions. This will then increase the number of successful collisions per second. Hence,
the rate of reaction will increase. An increased concentration of hydrochloric acid means that there
are more particles in the acid that can collide with the calcium carbonate particles. This increases the
frequency of successful collisions, increasing the rate of reaction.

An increased number of collisions can also be brought about by increasing the surface area of
reactants. As a solid’s state of subdivision increases, its surface area will also increase. More surfaces
are then availbale for collisions. This increases the frequency of collisions, which will increase the
number of successful collisions. Hence the rate of reaction inceases. If the surface area of a reactant
is increased: more particles are exposed to the other reactant. There is a greater chance of particles
colliding, which leads to more successful collisions per second. This increases the rate of reaction.

An increased amount of kinetic energy between collisions can be brought about by an increase in
temperature. Inceasing the temperature will increase the average kinetic energy, which will increase
the number of particles with sufficient collision energy. It will also increase the speed of particles.
This will increase the frequency of collisions and energy of collisions. The increased kinetic energy
and speed of particles will increase the number of successful collisions. Hence, the rate of reation
will increase.

Errors
 Temperature – the temperature of the equipment and the room did not stay consistent
throughout. The temperature was not a factor that we actively controlled. As a higher
temperature could speed up reaction rate, it must be kept constant. We conducted the
experiment on the same day within one hour. The temperature of the room may have
changed a degree or two. The equipment that was used may have changed temperature
throughout our experiment as well. The conical flask that contained every reaction could
have absorbed heat or lost heat during the reaction. As we did not control our temperature,
it impacted the reaction rate, and our recorded results.
 Surface area of reactant (marble chips) – the size of the marble chips was not the same
throughout the trial. On some trials, there was more powdered marble chips, which resulted
in a larger surface area of reactants. This increased state of subdivision increased the rate of
reaction, as more calcium carbonate particles are exposed to the hydrochloric acid particles,
and this will increase the frequency of successful collisions.

Recommeneded improvements

 To maintain the same temperature, we can use a different flask for each trial, so that the
heat absorbed or lost from the previous trial do not impact the following trial. The
 equipment, specifically the flaskss should be kept in the same place at room temperature.
This way, the temperature of the equipment will remain constant throughout the
experiment. We should also ensure that the temperature in the room is kept at the same
temperature the entire time, with no shifts in degrees.
 To maintain the same surface area of reactants, the marble chips should all be kept the same
or a very similar size. Instead of many small pieces of marble chips, we could change it to
using one big piece of marble. This way, it would be easier to ensure that the surface area of
the marble chips remain the same, and the surface area will remain constant throughout the
experiment.
 These improvements will reduce the errors that impact the rate of reaction.

Conclusion

As the concentration of hydrochloric acid increased, the reaction rate also increased, which
supports the hypothesis.

Bibliography
acara. (n.d.). Rates of Reaction. Retrieved from Australian Curriculum:
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/work-samples/samples/rates-of-
reaction-at/

Edexcel iGCSE Chemistry. (n.d.). 3:15 practical: investigate the effect of changing the surface area of
marble chips and of changing the concentration of hydrochloric acid on the rate of reaction
between marble chips and dilute hydrochloric acid. Retrieved from tutormyself Chemistry:
https://www.tutormyself.com/edexcel-igcse-2017chem-315/