The Effects of Different Factors on Reaction Rates Solivio, Beatriz Julia G. Chem 14.1 WCD1 Prof.

Polji Sanchez

Group 8 March 14, 2012

Abstract In this study, five factors affecting reaction rates were observed and examined namely the nature of reactants, concentration, temperature, surface area, and presence of a catalyst. Five separate experiments were performed, each involving a factor that affects reaction rates. By modifying or altering a factor among those mentioned earlier (use of different nature/ particle size/ concentration of reactants, change in temperature and addition of catalysts), how the modification of this factor has affected the reaction rate can be compared. The nature of the reactants implied if the reactants are polar or non polar, organic or inorganic, ionic or covalent, acidic or basic, or if they occur in the same phase or not. In concentration, increasing the concentration of the reactants increased the reaction rates. The trend in temperature is that as the temperature rises, reaction rate also increases. Molecules with larger surface areas resulted to faster reaction rates and adding a catalyst to the reaction can either speed up or slow down the reaction rate. The changes in the reaction rates are based on a principle on chemical kinetics called the collision theory which states that chemical reactions occur as a result of collisions between reacting molecules but that in order to react, the colliding molecules must have a total kinetic energy equal to or greater than the activation energy. Chemical kinetics can be applied in a lot of fields. It provides chemists and chemical engineers with tools to better understand processes occurring in foods, decompositions, and other microscopic organisms. It is used in the modification of chemical reactors and it also used to explain why people can survive prolonged thermal property without suffering brain damage. Keywords: activation energy, catalyst, concentration, nature of reactants, reaction rate, surface area, temperature

Introduction Every reaction has a rate or speed at which it proceeds. Some are fast and some are extremely slow (Hein and Arena 2003). Chemical Kinetics is the area of chemistry concerned with speed, or rates at which a chemical reaction occurs. A chemical reaction rate is defined as the rate of change in concentrations a reactant or a product with time (Chang 2005). There are several factors that affect the rate of chemical reactions. Among them are temperature, nature of reactants, concentration, surface area and the presence of catalysts. This study aims to: (a) recognize the factors affecting reaction rates, (b) determine the effects of nature of reactants, concentration, temperature, surface area and catalysts on the reaction rates, (c) to explain the effects of these factors on the reaction rates. Experimental A.) Effect of the Nature of Reactants Twenty drops of 0.1 M potassium permanganate and 12 drops of 6 M sulfuric acid were mixed in a 5ml test tube. Two test tubes were filled with 10 drops each of the resulting solution. The first test tube was combined with 10 drops of 0.1 M Sodium oxalate solution and the second test tube was added with 10 drops of hydrogen peroxide

solution. Afterwards, the rate of discoloration of potassium permanganate in each test tube was compared. B.) Effect of Concentration Three 5ml test tubes were filled with 10 drops each of 6 M, 3 M and 1 M hydrochloric acid. Then, a piece of magnesium ribbon was placed in each of the test tubes. The time required to completely dissolve the magnesium ribbon in each test tube was recorded. C.) Effect of Temperature A 5ml test tube was filled with 10 drops of 0.15 M thiosulfate and heated in a water bath until the temperature reached 40 degrees Celsius. 10 drops of 3 M hydrochloric acid was added to the solution and the time it took for the solution to become cloudy was recorded. This procedure was repeated in another thiosulfate solution that was heated to 60 degrees Celsius. The same procedure was done this time cooling the thiosulfate solution to 20 degrees Celsius. D.) Effect of Surface Area Two pieces of chalk of the same size were placed in two separate test tubes. One of the two pieces of chalk was ground. 20 drops of 1 M hydrochloric acid was added to each of the test tubes and their reaction rates were compared. E.) Effect of Catalysts

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A pinch of Manganese dioxide and 10 drops of freshly prepared hydrogen peroxide were mixed in a test tube. Evolution of oxygen gas was noted and the test tube containing the mixture was subjected to the glowing splinter test. Another test tube was filled with 10 drops of hydrogen peroxide, this time, no Manganese dioxide was added. The rates of evolution of gas of the two test tubes were compared. Results and Discussion The study tried to verify the already known effects of the given factors to the reaction rate. Overall, the results were consistent with the general observations made in chemical kinetics. Effect of Nature of Reactant Table 1: The effect of the nature of reactants on the rate of disappearance of pink color Reducing Agent Na2C2O4 H2O2 Rate of disappearance of pink color slower faster

the frequency of the molecules colliding also increases. This allows the molecules to strike each other faster. This is the reason why the reaction was much faster when 6M HCl was used than 3M or 1M HCl because it had greater concentration. Effect of Temperature Table 3: The effect of temperature on 3 M HCl Temperature (C) 20 40 60 Time (secs) 25 17.15 13.49

In order to react, the colliding molecules must have a total kinetic energy equal to or greater than the activation energy which is the minimumamount of energy required to initiate a chemical reaction. We can think of activation energy as a barrier that prevents less energetic molecules from reacting. Since more high-energy molecules are present at higher temperature, the rate of product formation is great. The Arrhenius equation is a formula for the temperature dependence of the reaction rate constant, and therefore, reaction rate.

The net ionic equations are: 2 2+ 2MnO + 16H + 5CO 2Mn + 10CO + 8HO and 2+ 5HO + 2MnO + 6H 2Mn + 5O + 8HO Generally, acid reactions, the formation of salts, and ion exchange are fast reactions. When covalent bond formation takes place between the molecules and when large molecules are formed, the reactions tend to be very slow. Therefore, Sodium oxalate which has an ionic bond is oxidized more easily because the activation energy is low compared to the high activation energy of HO which has a covalent bond. Their reduction potentials i.e. the tendency of a chemical species to acquire electrons and be reduced could be compared. A solution with a lower (more negative) reduction potential will have the tendency to lose electrons to the new species and be oxidized. Effect of Concentration Table 2: The effect of the concentration of HCl on the dissolution of Mg ribbon Concentration of HCl 6M 3M 1M Time (secs) Faster Fast Slow

Where Ea is the activation energy of the reaction; R is the gas constant 8.314 J/K mol; T is the absolute temperature; and e is the base of the natural logarithm scale (Chang 2005). Effect of Surface Area Table 4: The effect of surface area on the rate evolution of bubbles State of solid substance Powdered Whole Relative rate of evolution of bubbles faster slower

The more readily molecules collide with each other, the more rapidly they react. Reactions that involve solids tend to proceed faster if surface area is increased because there is a greater chance of contact between molecules. Effect of Catalyst Table 5: Effect of MnO2 in the rate of evolution of O2 gas

Reaction rates tend to increase with concentration. When the amount of concentration of a substance increases,
The Effects of Different Factors on Reaction Rates

Liquid solution

Relative rate of evolution of O2 gas

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Without MnO2 With MnO2

Slower Faster

As the concentration of the reactant is increased, the chance for collision between molecules increases so the time it will take for the reaction to occur becomes shorter and vice versa. b. Time of reaction and speed of reaction? As the speed of reaction increases, the time of reaction is shortened. Time of reaction and speed of reaction are inversely proportional c. Concentration of reactant and speed of reaction? Concentration of reactant is directly proportional to the speed of reaction. As the concentration of the reactant increases, the frequency of colliding molecules also increases, thus increasing the probability of having more effective collisions in a given time. 4. How does change in temperature affect the rate of reaction? As the temperature increases, the particles gain more kinetic energy and move faster. This increases the probability of successful collisions among themselves. Hence rate of reaction increases. 5. How does particle size or surface area affect the rate of reaction? Smaller particles have larger surface areas. The larger the surface area of the substance is the faster will the rate of reaction be. This is because larger surface areas give more surfaces and more opportunities to react. The more surface area exposed, the more the particles are able to collide or react with each other. Hence in a given period of time, more collisions can occur, thus a faster reaction. Particle size is inversely proportional to rate of reaction while surface area is directly proportional to rate of reaction. 6. What is the role of MnO2 in the experiment? MnO2 was the catalyst in the experiment. Its role was to speed up the decomposition process of hydrogen peroxide. 7. How does a catalyst affect the rate of a chemical reaction? A catalyst is a substance that either decelerates (inhibitor or negative catalyst) or accelerates (positive catalyst) the rate of chemical reaction without being consumed in the reaction and remains chemically unchanged afterwards. Here in the experiment, the
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A catalyst is a substance that speeds up chemical reactions without itself being involved in the reaction. It lowers the overall activation energy for a chemical reaction so there are more molecules that can reach the minimum energy to form new products. The rate law shows how the rate depends on the concentration of reactants. Generally, it has the form m n rate = k[A] [B] where k is the rate constant and the exponents m and n are the reaction orders. The magnitude of k changes with temperature and therefore determines how temperature affects rate. The exponents in a rate law indicate how the rate is affected by the concentration of each reactant.Areaction is zero order in a particular reactant, changing its concentration will have no effect on rate because any concentration raised to the zero power equals 1. When a reaction is first order in a reactant, changes in the concentration of that reactant will produce proportional changes in the rate. When the rate law is second order in aparticular reactant, 2 doubling its concentrationincreases the rate by a factor of 2 =4 tripling its concentration causes the rate to increase by a factor 2 of 3 =9. The rate of reaction depends on concentration while the rate constant is affected by temperature and by the presence of a catalyst. Thefaster rate at higher temperature is due to anincrease in th e rate constant with increasingtemperature. Answers to Guide Questions 1. Which is the stronger reducing agent? NaCO or HO? Why? HO was the stronger reducing agent since it is unstable which contributes to low activation energy. 2. What conclusions can you make regarding the effect of nature of reactants on rate of reaction? Reactions that involve the formation and separation of large molecules are slow compared to smaller molecules. Reactions of gases are usually faster than solids because it takes less energy to separate the molecules. Molecules with multiple and stronger bonds are harder to break, thus having slower reactions. Molecules with stronger inter-particle forces of attraction react faster, as theres greater chance of attraction, interaction and reaction. 3. Based on your observations, what is the relationship between a. Concentration of reactant and time of reaction?

The Effects of Different Factors on Reaction Rates

catalyst used was a positive catalyst. The positive catalyst increases rate of reaction by providing a different reaction mechanism to occur with lower activation energy. Activation energy is the minimum energy required for a chemical reaction to occur. The catalyst gives an alternative pathway to the reaction, one that requires less energy because a more reactive intermediate is generated more quickly. 8. The following data were obtained from a hypothetical reaction wherein reactants A, B, and C form product D. A (mol/L) 0.030 0.060 0.060 0.030 B (mol/L) 0.030 0.030 0.045 0.030 C (mol/L) 0.010 0.020 0.020 0.040 Rate (mol/L)/sec 0.30 x 1.20 x 1.80 x 0.30 x

k=1.11

/s

Conclusions and Recommendations The reaction rates depend on the frequency of collisions between molecules, but it must occur with sufficient energy to stretch bonds to a critical length and with suitable orientation for new bonds to form in the proper locations. The rate of chemical reactions is affected by five factors namely the nature of reactants, the concentration of reactant(s), temperature, the surface area of the reactant(s), and the presence of a catalyst. Generally, acid reactions, the formation of salts and ion exchange are fast reactions. When covalent bond formation takes place between molecules and when large molecules are formed, the reactions tend to be very slow. If the concentration increases, there will be more particles within a given space. The frequency of the molecules colliding increases the reaction rate. A higher temperature means a higher average kinetic energy of molecules and more collisions per unit time. This is supported by the kinetic molecular theory, which states that colliding molecules of the reactants in a reaction possess different energies at any given temperature. When the reactants are in the same phase, thermal motion brings them into contact and the particles have the maximum opportunity to collide. Catalysts are substances that alter the rate of chemical reactions without being used up or permanently changed chemically. Catalysts worked by changing pathways for a chemical reaction, and causing the reaction mechanism to occur with lower activation energy. There are many fields in which chemical kinetics can be applied. It provides chemists and chemical engineers with tools to better understand processes such as food decomposition, microorganism growth, stratosphere ozone decomposition and the chemistry of biological systems. It is used in modification of chemical reactors to optimize product yield, efficiently separate products and eliminate environmental harmful by- products and also used to explain why people can survive prolonged thermal property without suffering brain damage. The use of thermometer in experiment C can cause slight error in the reading when the apparatus is not set to its normal temperature of 37 degrees Celsius before using. Furthermore, H2O2 should also be freshly prepared for an effective use of the acid. References

a.) What is the order of reaction with respect to A? with respect to B? with respect to C? With respect to A:

a=2 With respect to B:

1.5b=1.5 b=1 With respect to C:

c=0 b.) What is the rate equation? Give the over-all order of reaction described. Rate=k [B]

Over-all order of reaction: a+b+c=x 2+1+0=3

c.) What is the numerical value of the rate constant, k? k= rate { k=

The Effects of Different Factors on Reaction Rates

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