Stephano Pina

Rate of reaction between sodium thiosulphate

and hydrochloric acid investigation

Contents:
Aim. 2
Chemical ideas . 2-7
Risk assessment.8
Methods.9
Making the standard solution.9
Experiment 1.10-12
Experiment 2.13-15
Experiment 3.16-18
Experiment4.18-20
Experiment 5.20-22

Conclusion.23
Evaluation.24-27
References.28

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Aim:
In this investigation I aim to find out the rate of reaction between
sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid and the effect of different
variables on it. The reaction consists on the formation of sulphur as a
precipitate and the rate depends on the time taken for it to form. I will
use a different range of methods and techniques to show the
influence of some variables on the rate of reaction. I will investigate
the concentration, temperature, catalysts and other acids affect on
the rate reaction. In order to achieve that for the concentration I will
alter concentration of both reactants by diluting them and use the
graphs to determine the order with respect to each reactant, and from
this I hope to write the rate equation and conclude who many
molecules of each reactant are in the rate determining step. For the
temperature I am hoping to try the experiment at different
temperatures by using water baths and working out if the rate
increase or decrease with the increase in temperature. From this data
I expect to plot a graph of ln(1/temp) against 1/time work out the
gradient and use Arrhenius equation to calculate an activation energy
for the reaction. For the catalyst I am looking to try different transition
metal catalysts, show their influence on the rate and determine which
one is the more effective on speeding up the reaction. And finally I am
hoping with different acids show how the rate formation of sulphur
precipitate changes with other acids and which one speed the
reaction up or slow it down.

Stephano Pina

Chemical ideas:
- The rate of reaction:
The rate of reaction is the measurement of how quick a reaction
happens. Its defined as the change in the amount of reactants or
products per unit of time or the time taken for the reactants to be
used up and the products to form. Any factor that can increase the
number of successful collisions can increase the rate reaction. We
have different methods to measure the rate of reaction on this
investigation I am going to use the disappearing cross method.
-Disappearing cross:
This method measures the time taken for a precipitate to form. A
glass of beaker is placed on top of a piece of paper with a black cross
on it. The reactants are added to the beaker and a stopwatch started.
The stopwatch is then stopped when the cross is no longer visible.
This indicates the end point of the reaction with the precipitated fully
formed.
-Activation energy:
The activation energy of a chemical reaction is the minimum energy
that must be input to a chemical system with potential reactants to
cause a chemical reaction. Activation energy can also be defined as
the minimum energy required to start a chemical reaction.

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-Temperature on reaction rate:

For a reaction to happen particles need to collide with enough energy,
increasing the temperature makes particles move faster which means
that they will collide more frequently and with more energy to make
the reaction happen. Therefore we can say that increasing the
temperature increases the rate of reaction due to more collisions with
enough energy. This amount of energy needed to make the reaction
happens is called activation energy. The Boltzmann distribution curve
(graph below) represents the distribution of molecular energies at a
constant temperature.

-Concentration on reaction rate:

The rate of reaction measures the frequency of successful collisions
between particles. The concentration is the amount of moles per unit
of volume of a chemical, so the more concentrated a chemical is the
more moles it will have therefore the more particles. Increasing the
number of particles in the same space will increase the the amount of
successful collisions that occur that will also lead to an increase on
the reaction rate to increase. This means that as the concentration of
reactants increase rate of reaction will increase because of the

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increase of successful collisions due to the increase in particles.

-Rate equation and orders:

The rate equation links the concentration of the reactants with the
rate of reaction. The rate of reaction depends on what is being
measured we could measure the rate at which reactants disappear or
the rate of which products are formed. The overall rate equation
follows:

Where A and B are the reactants or products depending on what is

being measured. The order of reaction tells you how the a reactant
concentration affects the rate. This can only be worked out from
experiment not from chemical equations. The order can be found by
using graphs either by plotting a concentration/time or
rate/concentration graph. The shapes of these will then allow you to

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determine the order.

-Catalyst:
A catalyst is a substance thats speeds up a reaction but remains
unchanged at the end of the reaction. The catalyst provides an
alternative route for the reaction to happen with a lower activation
energy allowing more successful collisions at a lower energy and this
as a consequence makes the rate of reaction speed up. There are two
types of catalysts, homogeneous and heterogeneous. Homogeneous
is the catalyst that is in the same state as the reactants whereas
heterogeneous catalysts are in a different state to the reactants.

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-Transition metals catalytic proprieties:

Many of the transition metals behave as catalysts this is due to their
variable oxidation number, which gives the capacity to take and give
electrons and oxidize or reduce things easily. The ability of transition
metals to be in a variety of oxidation states, the ability to interchange
between the oxidation states and the ability to form complexes with
the reagents and be a good source for electrons make transition
metals good catalysts.
-Acidity:
The strength of an acid or acidity is the ability of the acid to donate a
proton (H+). A strong acid tends to dissociate completely in a solution
while a weak acid only dissociate partially.

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Risk assessment:
-

0.1 moldm-3 Hydrochloric acid: Low hazard, may cause harm

to eyes. Eye protection and lab coat must be worn and small
amounts of it can be poured down the sink with water.
1 moldm-3 Sodium thiosulphate: Low hazard but can cause
irritation in some cases eye protection and lab coat must be
worn.
Sulphur dioxide (diluted in water): low hazard however the
given off gas is toxic. Use eye protection and lab coat and avoid
inhaling the fumes if possible by working on a fume cupboard or
wearing a faceguard.
Solid Sulphur: low hazard. Eye protection and lab coat must
be worn. Solid sulphur only causes minor hazard unless it is
heated. Only small quantities can be put down the sink because
sulphur doesnt dissolve in water.
Sodium chloride: Low hazard. Lab coat and eye protection
must be worn.
0.1 moldm-3 Iron (III) chloride: low hazard. Still can cause
some irritation so lab coat and eye protection must be worn.
Copper II sulphate: low hazard. Eye protection and lab coat
must be worn.
0.1 and 0.5 moldm-3 Iron (III) Nitrate: Can cause skin and
eye irritation. Eye protection and lab coat must be worn.
0.1 moldm-3 Sulphuric acid: Low hazard. It may still cause
harm in the eyes or in a cut. Eye protection and lab coat must
be worn.
0.1 moldm-3 phosphoric acid: Low hazard. Can cause harm
on eyes. Wear lab coat and eye protection. Can be dispose
down the sink with lots of water.
0.1 moldm-3 Methanoic acid: Low hazard. Can be irritant
when in contact with eyes. Lab coat and eyes protection must
be worn.
0.1 moldm-3 Nitric acid: Irritant for eyes and skin. Lab coat
and eye protection must be worn.
0.1 moldm-3 Propanoic acid: low hazard. Can cause eye
irritation. Eye protection and lab coat must be worn.
Water: no risks.

Other precautions:
-Any solution on poly bottle need to be labeled.

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-Long hair must be tied back.

-Apparatus must be rinsed and washed.
-No toxic products can go down the sink with water but all toxic
products must go in the waste bottle.

Methods:
Making of standard solution of sodium thiosulphate:
Equipment list:
Solid sodium thiosulphate
Distilled water
100cm3 beaker
100 cm3 volumetric flask
Balance (2 d.p)
Funnel
Magnetic stirrer
Making the standard solution:
First step is to calculate the mass of solid Sodium thiosulphate needed
to produce the volume needed in this case 100ml.
Moles: 1 x 100/1000= 0.1 mol
Mr of sodium thiosulphate: 248.18
Mass needed= 0.1 x 248.18= 24.82 (2dp)
1) Using a 100cm3 beaker weigh out 24.82g of sodium
thiosulphate, add about 50cm3 distilled water and use a
magnetic stirrer to mix the solution together until all the solid is
dissolved.
2) Using a funnel transfer the solution made into the 100cm3
volumetric flask washing both the beaker and the funnel into
the volumetric flask so no solution is lost.
3) Top up the volumetric flask to the 100cm3 line with distilled
water. Make sure the bottom of the meniscus is resting on the
line. Then put the stopper on the top and shake it well to mix all
the content keeping your thumb firmly on the stopper.

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4) Transfer the solution to a poly bottle, label it marking the

concentration and volume and store it in a safe place to use it
when needed.
Experiment 1:
Changing the concentration of sodium thiosulphate:
In this experiment I used a disappearing cross method and changed
the concentration of sodium thiosulphate. With the recorded data I
plotted a concentration/time graph and a rate/concentration graph.
With this I hope to work out the order of reaction with respect to
sodium thiosulphate and use it to later produce a rate equation.
Equipment list:
150cm3 Hydrochloric acid 0.1 moldm-3
90cm3 Sodium thiosulphate solution 1moldm-3
60cm3 Distilled water
3x 10cm3 pipettes
3x 150cm3 beakers
5x 50cm3 beakers
5x test tubes
Black cross
Stopwatch
Method:
1) Fill three different 150cm3 beakers with sodium thiosulphate,
hydrochloric acid and water.
2) Using a 10cm3 pipette fill 5 50cm3 beakers with 10cm3 of HCl
and fill 5 test tubes with the amount of sodium thiosulphate and
distilled water shown in the table below using the other two
pipettes. Label the test tube 1 to 5 according to the experiment
number.
Expt

Water/cm3

1moldm-3
Sodium
thiosulphate/cm

0.1moldm-3
Hydrochloric
acid/cm3

10

10

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10

10

10

10

3) Place the first beaker containing hydrochloric acid over the

black cross and add test tube 1 to it at the same time start the
stopwatch and swirl the solution to mix the contents together.
Record the time taken for the cross to disappear in a table of
results. Repeat this process mixing the other test tubes with the
rest of the beakers containing hydrochloric acid.
4) Repeat the process 2 times and also record the results.

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Results:
Expt

Time1(s)

Time2(s)

Time3(s)

Timeave(s)

15.25

14.89

14.94

15.03

19.10

18.78

18.82

18.90

27.62

27.69

26.02

27.11

37.28

36.69

37.02

38.00

74.75

75.02

74.91

74.89

Analysis:
Rate=1/time
expt

Rate

0.0665

0.0529

0.0369

0.0263

0.0134

Finding the concentration of each experiment:

Expt1: n=1 x (10/1000) =0.010mol
Expt2: n=1 x (8/1000) = 0.008mol
Expt3: n=1 x (6/1000) = 0.006mol
Expt4: n=1 x (4/1000) = 0.004mol
Expt5: n=1 x (2/1000) = 0.002mol
Overall concentration= moles/total volume
Expt1: n=0.010/ (20/1000) = 0.5moldm-3
Expt2: n=0.008/ (20/1000) = 0.4moldm-3
Expt3: n=0.006/ (20/1000) = 0.3moldm-3
Expt4: n=0.004/ (20/1000) = 0.2moldm-3

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Expt5: n=0.002/ (20/1000) = 0.1moldm-3

I have then used this data to plot a concentration/time graph and a
rate/concentration graph (graphs are attached to the page).
By analysing the concentration/time graph we can see that the half
life of sodium thiosulphate is constant of 31s, which indicates that
sodium thiosulphate should be first order. The rate/concentration
graph also shows that the rate is directly proportional to the
concentration we can then conclude that sodium thiosulphate has a
first order [Na2S2O3]1.
Experiment 2:
Changing the concentration of hydrochloric acid
In this experiment I used a disappearing cross method and changed
the concentration of hydrochloric acid. I then used the data to I plot a
concentration/time graph and a rate/concentration graph. With this I
hope to work out the order of reaction with respect to hydrochloric
acid and write a rate equation for the reaction.
Equipment list:
150cm3 of 1 moldm-3 Sodium thiosulphate
90cm3 of 0.1 moldm-3 Hydrochloric acid
60cm3 distilled water
3x 10cm3 pipettes
3x 150cm3 beakers
5x 50cm3 beakers
5x test tubes
Black cross
Stopwatch
Method:

1) Fill three different 150cm3 beakers with sodium thiosulphate,

hydrochloric acid and water.
2) Using a 10cm3 pipette fill 5 50cm3 beakers with 10cm3 of sodium
thiosulphate and fill the 5 test tubes with the amount of

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hydrochloric acid and distilled water shown in the table below

with the other two pipettes. Label the test tube 1-5 in relation to
the amount of solutions you have put in them.
Expt

Water/cm3

1moldm-3
Sodium
thiosulphate/cm

0.1moldm-3
Hydrochloric
acid/cm3

10

10

10

10

10

10

3) Place the first beaker containing sodium thiosulphate over the

black cross and add test tube 1 to it at the same time start the
stopwatch and swirl the solution to mix the contents together.
Record the time taken for the cross to disappear in a table of
results. Repeat this process by mixing the rest of the beakers
with the other test tubes recording the time taken.
4) Repeat the process 2 times and also record the results.
Results:
Expt

Time1(s)

Time2(s)

Time3(s)

timeave(s)

13.98

14.02

14.22

14.07

16.01

15.72

15.75

15.83

18.92

18.86

18.75

18.84

24.07

24.20

24.15

24.14

38.02

37.97

37.92

37.97

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Analysis:
Rate= 1/time
Expt

Rate

0.0711

0.0632

0.0504

0.0414

0.0263

Finding the concentration of each experiment:

Expt1: n=0.1 x (10/1000) =0.0010mol
Expt2: n=0.1 x (8/1000) = 0.0008mol
Expt3: n=0.1 x (6/1000) = 0.0006mol
Expt4: n=0.1 x (4/1000) = 0.0004mol
Expt5: n=0.1 x (2/1000) = 0.0002mol
Overall concentration= moles/total volume
Expt1: n=0.0010/ (20/1000) = 0.05moldm-3
Expt2: n=0.0008/ (20/1000) = 0.04moldm-3
Expt3: n=0.0006/ (20/1000) = 0.03moldm-3
Expt4: n=0.0004/ (20/1000) = 0.02moldm-3
Expt5: n=0.0002/ (20/1000) = 0.01moldm-3
I have then used this data to plot a concentration/time graph and a
rate/concentration graph (graphs are attached to the page).
By analysing the concentration/time graph we can see that half life of
hydrochloric acid is not constant (19s; 15.5). This difference in half life
can be the evidence that hydrochloric acid isnt first order since first
order reactants have constant half life. But from the
rate/concentration graph we can see that the rate is directly
proportional to the concentration indicating the hydrochloric acid has
a first order. So by analysing my results and consulting my notes and

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because the difference between the time of the half life (3.5s) is small
we can then assume that this difference is due to errors on the
experiment that I will later comment on the evaluation section. We
can then conclude that hydrochloric acid is first order [HCl] 1. From the
previous experiment we know that sodium thiosulphate is also first
order, the rate of reaction is then first with respect to each reactants.
Which implies that the rate equation for this equation can be written
as r=k[HCl]1[Na2S2O3]1.
Experiment 3:
Changing temperature:
In this experiment I used a disappearing cross method and tried the
experiment at different temperatures. With the results I expect to
investigate the effect of the temperature on the reaction rate by
plotting a temperature/rate graph and a time/temperature graph. I
will also plot a ln(1/time)/(1/temperature) and use the Arrhenius
equation to find the activation energy of the reaction.
Equipment list:
100cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 Hydrochloric acid
60cm3 of 1 moldm-3 Sodium thiosulphate
40cm3 distilled water
3x 10cm3 pipettes
20x boiling tube
10x 50cm3 beaker
Black cross
Stopwatch
Thermometer
4x 250cm3 beakers
4x Water baths (set to 30o, 40o, 50o, 60o)
Method:
1) Into 5 boiling tubes measure out 10cm3 of hydrochloric acid
and place 4 of these into the water baths, one in each water
bath. Into another five boiling tubes measure out 8cm3 of

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2)

3)

4)
5)

water and 2cm3 of sodium thiosulphate and place 4 of them

into each of the four water baths.
During the time that the boiling tubes are in the water bath
add the boiling tube that is not in the water to a 50cm3
beaker and place it on top of a black cross. Put a
thermometer in the beaker then add the sodium thiosulphate
and water and start the stopwatch. Once the cross has
disappeared record the time and temperature.
Take the hydrochloric acid test tube in the first water bath
and transfer it to a 50cm3 beaker and place it on top of a
black cross. Put a thermometer in the beaker then take the
sodium thiosulphate and water solution on the water bath
and add it to the beaker. Once the cross has disappeared
record the time and temperature.
Repeat stage 3 for the beakers on the rest of the water
baths.
Repeat stages 1-4 again and record the results.

Results:
Temperature(oC)

Time1(s)

Time2(s)

timeave(s)

23

68.54

70.03

69.29

30

47.84

48.02

47.93

37

32.81

32.75

32.78

46

19.87

20.03

19.95

57

13.25

13.34

13.30

Analysis:
expt

rate

0.0144

0.0209

0.0305

0.0501

0.0751

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From the experiment and analyzing temperature/rate and a

time/temperature graphs we can see that the time of reaction
decreases as the temperature increases, that means that rate
decreases when temperature goes up. We can say that there is a
positive correlation between temperature and rate and a negative
correlation between time and temperature. This means that by
increasing the temperature we increase the speed of the reaction and
therefore the rate. The higher temperature the faster the reaction
since the particles have more energy and are colliding more. We can
then calculate the activation energy needed for the reaction to occur
using the ln(1/time)/(1/temperature) graph.
Activation energy= gradient x gas constant
Ln(1/time)

Temperature(K)

1/T x 103

-4.24

296

3.38

-3.87

303

3.30

-3.50

310

3.23

-2.99

319

3.13

-2.59

330

3.03

From the graph:

Gradient= (-2.5+4.2)/ (3.01x10-3-3.37x10-3) = -4722
Ea= gradient x gas constant = -4722 x 8.31 = 39241 Jmol-1
39241 Jmol-1 is the activation energy that means that a particle should
have a minimum of 39241J in order to collide successfully and cause
the reaction to happen.
Experiment 4:
Adding a catalyst:
In this experiment tried using different catalyst. With this I hope to
see their effect on the rate reaction and determine which one is more
effective on speeding the reaction up by putting the date on a bar
chart and comparing the results with the reaction without a catalyst.
Equipment list:

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100 cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 Hydrochloric acid

100cm3 of 1 moldm-3 sodium thiosulphate
4cm3 of Distilled water
4cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 Iron III chloride
4cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 Copper II sulphate
4cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 Iron III nitrate
4cm3 of 0.5moldm-3 Iron III nitrate
10x 100cm3 beakers
10x boiling tubes
Stopwatch
Black cross
2cm3 pipette
2x 10cm3 pipettes
Method:
1) Using a pipette fill 5 different beaker with 10cm3 of hydrochloric
acid. Label these beakers with numbers from 1 to 5.
2) Fill 5 boiling tubes with 10cm3 of sodium thiosulphate also
labeling it 1 to 5.
3) Using a 2cm3 pipette measure out the different solution and
transfer it to the respective test tubes:
-2cm3 of water to test tube 1
-2cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 Iron III chloride to test tube 2
-2cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 Copper II sulphate to test tube 3
-2cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 Iron III nitrate to test tube 4
-2cm3 of 0.5moldm-3 Iron III nitrate to test tube 5
3) Take beaker 1 containing hydrochloric acid and place it over a
black cross add test tube 1 content to it mix it and record the time
when the cross disappear.
4) Repeat the same procedure mixing test tube 2 and beaker 2, test
tube 3 and beaker 3, test tube 4 and beaker 4 and test tube 5 and
beaker 5 always recording the time.
5) Repeat the whole experiment again recording the results to make
it more accurate.

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Expt

HCl/cm3

Na2S2O3/cm3

H2O/cm3

Catalyst/cm3

10

10

2,3,4,5

10

10

Results:
Expt

Time1(s)

Time2(s)

Timeave(s)

No catalyst

16.15

16.09

16.12

0.1moldm-3
Iron III
chloride
0.1moldm-3
Copper II
sulphate
0.1moldm-3
Iron III
nitrate
0.5moldm-3
Iron III
nitrate

15.30

15.37

15.34

16.01

15.65

15.83

16.07

15.53

15.80

29.45

29.12

29.29

Analysis:

Catalyst
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

average time(s)

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The bar chart shows that the catalysts have a very low effect on
speeding the reaction up. The most effective of the catalysts on
making the reaction faster is iron III chloride. 0.5moldm-3 slows the
reaction down this is due to its high concentration and instead of
speeding up it has the opposite effect.Experiment 5:
Different acids:
In this experiment I will use different types of acids to replace
hydrochloric acid. With the results I will plot a bar chart and determine
the ones who speed the reaction up and the ones that slow it down.
Equipment list:
100cm3 of 1moldm-3 Sodium thiosulphate
20cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 sulphuric acid
20cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 phosphoric acid
20cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 propanoic acid
20cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 methanoic acid
20cm3 of 0.1moldm-3 nitric acid
2x 10cm3 pipette
10x 100cm3 beaker
10x boiling tube
Black cross
Stopwatch
Method:
1) Using a pipette fill 5 different beakers with 10cm3 of sodium
thiosulphate labeling them from 1 to 5.
2) Using another 10cm3 pipette fill 5 different boiling tubes with
the 5 different acids labeling it also from 1 to 5.
- Fill test tube 1 with 10cm3 of sulphuric acid
- Test tube 2 with 10cm3 of phosphoric acid
- Test tube 3 with 10cm3 propanoic acid
- Test tube 4 with 10cm3 methanoic acid
- Test tube 5 with 10cm3 nitric acid
3) Place the beaker labeled 1 on top of the black cross. Add the
solution on test tube 1 to it mix it and record the time taken for
the cross to disappear.

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4) Repeat that process mixing the beakers and test tubes with the
same label and recording the time taken to disappear.
5) Repeat the whole process (from stage 1-4) and record the
results.
Results:

Expt
1

Sulphuric
acid
Phosphoric
acid
Propanoic
acid
Methanoic
acid
Nitric acid

2
3
4
5

Time1(s)

Time2(s)

timeave(s)

10.81

10.92

10.87

21.88

21.25

21.57

116.04

118.46

117.3

50.38

50.12

50.25

14.84

14.90

14.87

Acids
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

average time (s)

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By analyzing the bar chart we can see that sulphuric acid is the most
effective on speeding the reaction up and propanoic acid the less
effective. We can also observe that the strongest the acid the faster
the reaction. This is due to the fact that weak acids like propanoic
acid and methanoic acid dont dissociate completely and is harder to
for them and requires more energy to give away the H+ that triggers
the reaction allowing the formation of sulphur that causes the
precipitate to form. That explains why a stronger acid will speed up
the reaction while a weak acid slows it down. Sulphuric acid also
contains sulphur and the presence of more sulphur in the reaction
makes it faster for the precipitate to form because an excess of
molecules are involved in the process.

Conclusion:
From experiment 1 the first graph shows us that sodium thiosulphate
has first order has first order in respect to the order of reaction as the
rate against concentration graph has produced a directly proportional
line and its half life is constant on the concentration against time
graph. On experiment 2, hydrochloric acid also appears to be a first
order as the graph shows a directly proportional line for rate against
concentration even if the half life is not constant which is due to
errors that will be commented on the evaluation section that could
affect my results. Which gives a overall order of reaction of 2 and a
rate equation r=k[HCl]1[Na2S2O3]1 . This means that both reactants
have one molecule reacting on the rate determining step. The results
from experiment 3 of temperature change support the chemical idea
that the rate of reaction increases as temperature increases which
means that reaction happens faster. This also support the collision
theory that states the faster the molecules are moving more
molecules will have enough energy to successfully collide and make
the reaction happen. From that I plotted a graph and worked out the
activation energy for my reaction which was 39241 Jmol-1 which is the
minimum value of energy that a particle should have in order to
collide and react with success. From my experiment 4 with the
catalyst we can see that transition metal catalyst have a small
increase in the speed of the reaction. We can see that all the catalyst
used were heterogeneous and all except from 0.5moldm-3 Iron III
nitrate made the reaction go faster. This catalyst effect of transition
metals is due to their unpaired electrons in the d orbital, and their
ability to form a variety of oxidation states. This means they can
readily accept and/or donate electrons to form intermediate

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compounds providing a different and faster path for the reaction to

take place which explains why the reaction happened faster with the
addition of a catalyst. On experiment 5 we can see the different acids
and their effect on the reaction time. We conclude that sulphuric acid
is the best acid to use in order to speed the reaction up this is due to
the presence of sulphur which makes the precipitate of sulphur to
form quicker due to the presence of more molecules and therefore
more probability of find sulphur molecules with enough energy to
react. The less effective acid is propanoic acid this is due to the fact of
being a weak acid who doesnt dissociate completely not providing H+
ions that can act has a catalyst on the formation of sulphur.

Stephano Pina

Evaluation:
Making of standard solution:
While making the standard solution some procedural errors affecting
the results may have been made. When calculating the mass of
sodium thiosulphate is important to remember that it was hydrated
and it has to be included on the calculations. When rinsing the funnel
and beaker it is possible that some of the solution is left in the in the
beaker making the moles of the solution not accurate and smaller
than expected. It is also very important that the bottom of the
meniscus is on the mark when water is added to the solution in the
volumetric flask because the concentration will not be correct and it
will affect the results. While measuring the mass of solid sodium
thiosulphate needed the 2dp balance has an error of +/- 0.005g. The
precision error for measuring the solid will then be:
0.005/24.82=0.0002015 x 100 = 0.02015 % of percentage of error
The precision error for the 100cm3 is +/- 0.3cm3
0.3 / 100 = 0.002 x 100 = 0.3% of error
Changing concentrations:
In this experiment some errors may have been incurred as I was using
a stop watch with precision error +/- 0.005s I could have started it at
different times allowing the reaction to start without a full indication
to the actual time taken. With using the disappearing cross method it
was difficult to judge the exact time the cross disappeared and the
longer the reaction the harder it was to determine therefore stopping
the stopwatch at the same time was more difficult making my results
probably a few seconds out. Also while mixing the reactions together
while timing them I may have mixed some more than others resulting
in a quicker reaction. The change in room temperature on different
tries and different days was also a possible source of uncertainty
since a higher temperature can lead to a faster reaction and therefore
affecting the results of my experiment. The 10cm3 pipette used to
measure the solutions had a precision error of +/- 0.04cm3. The
percentage for each try is calculated below:

Stephano Pina

Experiment 1:

Expt

% of error from
water reading

% of error from
sodium
thiosulphate
reading

% of error
from
stopwatch
reading

0.40

% of error
from
hydrochlori
c acid
reading
0.40

2.0

0.50

0.40

0.026

1.0

0.67

0.40

0.018

0.67

1.0

0.40

0.013

0.50

2.0

0.40

0.0068

0.033

Experiment 2:
Expt

% of error
from water
reading
-

% of error
from sodium
thiosulphate
reading
0.40

% of error
from
hydrochloric
acid reading
0.40

% of error
from
stopwatch
reading
0.036

1
2

2.0

0.40

0.50

0.032

1.0

0.40

0.67

0.027

0.67

0.40

1.0

0.021

0.50

0.40

2.0

0.013

Stephano Pina

Changing temperature:
In this experiment some errors may have come from the use of the
stopwatch while recording the time, the human reaction was the main
reason making my time results probably be a few seconds out.
Another source of error could be the fact that I have only measured
the temperature at the end of the reaction instead of measuring the
before and after and make an average. The thermometer I used to
measure the temperature also has a precision error of +/- 0.5o which
also adds some uncertainty to my measurements. The pipette used to
measure water, sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid has a
precision error of +/- 0.04cm3. The percentage of error for each try is
listed below:
expt

% of error
from water
reading

% of error
from
hydrochlori
c acid
reading
0.40

% of error
from
stopwatch
reading

% of error
from
thermomet
er reading

0.50

% of error
from
sodium
thiosulphat
e reading
2.0

0.0072

2.2

0.50

2.0

0.40

0.010

1.7

0.50

2.0

0.40

0.015

1.4

0.50

2.0

0.40

0.025

1.1

0.50

2.0

0.40

0.038

0.088

Catalyst experiment:
Procedural error may have incurred as I used a stop watch, I could
have started it at different times allowing the reaction to start without
full indication to the actual time taken. By using the disappearing
cross method it is difficult to judge the exact point the cross fully
disappears and different persons can have different judgments about
it adding or taking a few seconds to the actual value of time. Also the

Stephano Pina

longer the reaction takes the more difficult is to stay concentrate on

stopping the stopwatch at the exact moment. Another source of error
can be while mixing the solutions together and swirling it with more
or less force making some more mixed than others therefore faster for
the reaction to happen. The percentage of error for each try is
calculated below:
Expt

% of error
from
water
reading

% of error
from
hydrochlo
ric acid
reading

% of error
from
catalyst
reading

% of error
from
stopwatc
h reading

% of error
from
sodium
thiosulph
ate
reading
0.4

0.4

0.031

0.4

0.4

0.033

0.4

0.4

0.032

0.4

0.4

0.032

0.4

0.4

0.017

Different acids experiment:

Procedural error may have incurred as I used a stop watch, I could
have started it at different times allowing the reaction to start without
full indication to the actual time taken. By using the disappearing
cross method it is difficult to judge the exact point the cross fully
disappears and different persons can have different judgments about
it adding or taking a few seconds to the actual value of time. Also the
longer the reaction takes the more difficult is to stay concentrate on
stopping the stopwatch at the exact moment. Another source of error
can be while mixing the solutions together and swirling it with more
or less force making some more mixed than others therefore faster for
the reaction to happen. The percentage of error for each try is
calculated below:
Expt

% of error
from sodium

% of error
from acid

% of error from
stopwatch

Stephano Pina

1
2
3
4
5
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.

thiosulphate
reading
0.40
0.40
0.40
0.40
0.40

reading

reading

0.40
0.40
0.40
0.40
0.40

0.046
0.023
0.004
0.010
0.034

Classroom notes
A2 level chemistry OCR B revision guide
Risk assessment- Cleapss safety cheets
http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/catalysis/introduction.html
02/02/2015 different types of catalysts
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_rate_constant 17/01/20145
reaction rate and rate constant
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rate_equation 17/01/2015 rate
equation
7. http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/basicrates/catalyst.html
17/01/2015 catalysts on rate reaction
8. http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/basicrates/arrhenius.html
18/01/2015 arrhenius equation
9. http://www.ehow.com/about_6686789_transition-metals-goodcatalysts_.html
10.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_solution 18/01/2015