Experiment #2: Calorimetry

Jumawid, Noreen Antoinette B.

Sanchez, Aycee Cleo A.
Varquez, Trisha Elysse T.
Group no. 5; Chem 18.1; MEG1 ; Mr. Pelovello
August 20, 2015
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
I. Abstract
Chemical Kinetics deals with reaction rates and the factors that affect it. A reaction rate is the speed at which a chemical
reaction occurs. Five factors were tested in the experiment that affects reaction rates. These factors were nature of the
reactants, concentration, temperature, surface area, and catalysis. Experimentation was used to observe these phenomena. By
reacting Mg ribbon and a piece of Na with water, it was observed that Na reacts to water faster than the Mg ribbon showing that
it has a lower activation energy or has more frequent collisions. It was also shown by changing the concentrations of Na 2S2O3,
HCl, and water, and timing their reactions, that the overall reaction order is 1 and the rate law equation is k[Na 2S2O3]1 while the
value of k is 9.145. Ea was computed by manipulating the temperature for the reactions of Na 2S2O3, HCl, and water, and was
found to have a value of 45844.4887 Joules. Mg ribbon was exposed to HCl, the first a whole piece and the second cut into
pieces. It was observed that the second set-up reacted faster than the first, showing that an increase in surface area results in a
faster reaction rate. Catalysts hastens the reaction rate by lowering the activation energy without being consumed as seen in the
reaction of H2O2, Rochelle Salt and the catalyst, CoCl 2. Reaction rates can be observed in everyday life in the baking of pastries,
the metabolism of organisms, and in drug dosage and drug absorption.
II. Keywords Activation Energy, Catalyst, Chemical Kinetics, Collision, Reaction Rate
III. Introduction
Reaction rates are the change in concentration of
reactants per unit of time. This includes the study of the
different conditions or situations that affect the speed of the
chemical reaction and the reaction mechanism. Reaction
rates are further explained by the collision and transition
state theories. The collision theory states that for a
successful reaction to occur, a collision must happen, in the
correct position and orientation, and with a sufficient amount
of energy. The transition state theory states that a certain
amount of energy is required for a reaction to occur called
activation energy or Ea. The higher the Ea, the harder it is
for the reaction to occur, thus slowing down the process and
lowering the reaction rate. This also implies that the lower
the Ea, the easier for the reaction to occur, thus speeding up
the process and increasing the reaction rate. (Brown, et.al.,
2012).
In this experiment, five factors were shown to have
an effect on reaction rates. These are the nature of
reactants, concentration, temperature, surface area, and the
presence of a catalyst or catalysis.
The nature of reactants affects the activation energy
and determines whether the Ea is higher or lower and
dictates whether the reaction rate would be faster or slower.
The Rate Law shows how the concentration of the reactants
will determine the reaction rate as stated from the equation
below. (Brown, et.al., 2012).
rate=k[A]a
where k = rate constant

Chemistry 18.1, Factors Affecting Reaction Rates

A= concentration of reactant
a = order of reaction with respect to A
The Arrhenius equation is used to determine the
reaction rate in terms of temperature based on the equation
below.
k=Ae-Ea/RT
The surface area of a reactant affects the reaction
rate by increasing the chance of collisions and the frequency
of collisions. The presence of a catalyst also affects the
reaction rate by changing the path for the reaction to occur
thus speeding up the process and increasing the reaction
rate. (Brown, et.al., 2012).
These factors will be further discussed during the
experiment as well as the identification of the rate law and
value of Ea. This is important to be studied to be able to
understand the processes and factors that affect chemical
reactions.
IV. Experimental
The experiment was performed in five parts, obtaining
results regarding the factors that affect reaction rate,
particularly the nature of reactants, the concentration of
reactants, temperature, surface area, and the presence of a
catalyst.
To determine the effects of the nature of the reactants, 3
mL of water was placed in each test tube A and B. A strip of
Mg ribbon was added to test tube A and a small piece of Na

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was added to test tube B. Results were observed and

recorded.
Next, a 10-mL beaker was placed right on top of an Xmark drawn on a piece of white paper. Indicated amounts of
0.15 M Na2S2O3 (refer to Table 1 and 2) and H 2O were added
to the beaker. And then, the indicated amount of 3 M HCl
was added. The period of time between the addition of HCl
and the disappearance of the X-mark was timed and
recorded. The procedure was done first at (I.) constant HCl
concentration and then at (II.) constant Na2S2O3
concentration.

Table 1. Volumes of reagents for Part B Set I

0.15 M Na2S2O3 (mL)
5
4
3
2
1

H2O (mL)
0
1
2
3
4

3 M HCl (mL)
1
1
1
1
1

Table 2. Volumes of reagents for Part B Set II

0.15 M Na2S2O3 (mL)
5
5
5
5
5

H2O (mL)
0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0

3 M HCl (mL)
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5

For the third part, one test tube was prepared with 5
mL 0.15 M Na2S2O3 and another was prepared with 7.5
mL H2O and 2 mL 3 M HCl. Both test tubes were
immersed for 5 minutes in a tap water bath. The
temperature of thep water bath was recorded. After the
time is up, the reagents were immediately mixed in a 50mL beaker placed on top of a white paper marked with an X.
The period of time between the mixing of reagents and the
disappearance of the X-mark was timed and recorded. The
process was repeated at two other temperatures, one
approximately 10 C lower than room temperature.
In the fourth part, two identical strips of Mg ribbon were
obtained and one was cut into very small pieces. They were
then placed in two respective test tubes. Five mL of 3 M HCl
were added to each tube, and then the observations were
recorded.
And in the last part, 5 mL 3% H 2O2 + 1 g Rochelle salt
was placed in one test tube and 5 mL 3% H 2O2 + 1 g
Rochelle salt + a pinch of CoCl 2 was placed in another. Each
of the solutions was gently heated and the observations
were recorded.

V. Results
The table below (refer to Table 2) shows the visible
results of the reactions of Na and Mg with water.
Table 3: Observations on Nature of Reactants

Reactants
3 mL H2O + Mg
3 mL H2O + Na

Visible Results
Slight bubble formation on Mg ribbon
Liquid
becomes
cloudy,
smoke
formation, explosion and fizzing

Tables 4 and 5 show the results obtained from the second

part of the experiment. It first shows the results for the
reactions with constant HCl concentration: the molarity of
Na2S2O3 and HCl, calculated by first finding the moles of
Na2S2O3 and HCl present in their respective concentrations
and then dividing it by the new volume of the mixture, and
ln[Na2S2O3]. The time obtained from the experiment can also
be seen in the table, and the rate is computed by getting the
reciprocal of time (1/time). Finally, ln Rate is acquired. The
same values are also found in Table 5, only with constant
Na2S2O3 concentration.
Table 4: Values obtained from reactions with constant HCl
concentration

[Na
[HCl]
2S2O[HCl]
3
[Na2S
2 O3
]
(M)
] (M)
(M) (M)
0.1
1
0.10.125 0.8 0.5
0.1
0.6
0.1 0.1 0.4 0.5
0.1
0.2
0.075
0.5

ln
ln [HCl]
[Na2S2
0O3]
-2.0704
-0.2331
-0.5108
-2.3025
-0.9163
-1.6084
-2.5903

Time
Time
(s)
(s)
14.29
16.175
16.44
17.37
18.49
18.39
22.36
26.00

Rate
Rate
-1
(s(s-1) )
0.0700
0.0615
0.0608
0.0576
0.0541
0.0544
0.0448
0.0385

lnRate
lnRate

-2.6593
-2.8002
2.7839
-2.8542
-2.9114
2.9169
-3.1055
3.2571
0.05
0.5
-2.9957
35.70
0.0280
3.5756
0.025
0.5
-3.6589
75.76
0.0132
4.3275
The results were obtained from the following calculations:
(5 mL)(0.15 M) = (6 mL)(x)
x = 0.125 M Na2S2O3

(2 mL)(0.15 M) = (6 mL)(x)
x = 0.05 M Na2S2O3

(4 mL)(0.15 M) = (6 mL)(x)
x = 0.1 M Na2S2O3

(2 mL)(0.15 M) = (6 mL)(x)
x = 0.1 M Na2S2O3

(3 mL)(0.15 M) = (6 mL)(x)
x = 0.075 mL Na2S2O3

(1 mL)(3 M) = (6 mL)(x)
x = 0.5 M HCl

These data can be further interpreted by the graph below

(refer to Figure 1), by plotting ln Rate vs. ln [Na2S2O3].
Table 5: Values obtained from reactions with constant Na2S2O3
concentration

Chemistry 18.1, Factors Affecting Reaction Rates

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0
-4

-3.5

-3

-2.5

Table
Values from reactions with varying temperatures
-2 6:-1.5
[Na2S2-1
O3] = 0.0517 M
[HCl] = 0.4137 M

-2

ln Rate

-3
-4
-5

Temp
(C)
32
15
5

1/T (K)
0.0033
0.0035
0.0036

ln [Na2S2O3]

Rate
(1/time)
0.045
0.0145
0.00787

lnk

0.8704
0.2804
0.1522

-0.1388
-1.2715
-1.8826

0
-0.5

Figure 1: Plot of ln Rate vs ln [Na2S2O3]

ln k
-2.4
-1.8-1.6-1.4-1.2 -1 -0.8-0.6-0.4-0.2 0
-2.6
ln Rate

Time(s
)
21.95
68.50
126.59

-1
-1.5
-2

-2.8
-3

1/T
Figure 3: Plot of ln k vs 1/T

-3.2
ln [HCl]
Figure 2: Plot of ln Rate vs ln [HCl]

The calculations done were:

(2.5 mL)(3 M) = (7.5 mL)(x)
x = 0.125 M HCl

(1.0 mL)(3 M) = (7.5 mL)(x)

x = 0.4 M HCl

(2.0 mL)(3 M) = (7.5 mL)(x) (0.5 mL)(3 M) = (7.5 mL)(x)

x = 0.8 M HCl
x = 0.2 M HCl
(1.5 mL)(3 M) = (7.5 mL)(x) (5 mL)(0.15 M) = (7.5 mL)(x)
x = 0.6 M HCl
x = 0.1 M Na2S2O3
Table 6 shows the recorded time obtained from each
temperature used in the third part of the experiment. The
rate of reaction was calculated using the reciprocal of time
(1/time). The table also shows k and ln k, where k is derived
from the Rate Law, with the concentration and rate already
given. From the values of 1/T and lnk, a graph is plotted
(refer to Figure 3).
k = 0.045/ 0.0517 = 0.8704
k = 0.0145/0.0517 = 0.2804
k = 0.00787/0.0517 = 0.1522

The activation energy (Ea) was obtained through

this equation:
m = -Ea/R
-5482.6 = -Ea/8.314
Ea = 45, 582.3364
The results from the fourth part of the experiment
can be found in Table 7. It shows the visible results exhibited
by reactions of Mg ribbon at varying surface areas.
Table 7: Observations on Surface Area

Reactants
5 mL HCl + Strip of Mg

Visible Results
Slower reaction, minimal
bubbles
5 mL HCl + Pieces of Mg
Faster
reaction,
faster
appearance of bubbles
The effects of a catalyst on the rate of reaction can be
observed in Table 8. The reactants can be seen on the left
side, with the recorded observations on the left.
Table 8: Observations on Presence of Catalyst

Reactants
H2O2 + Rochelle Salt

H2O2 + Rochelle Salt +

CoCl2

Chemistry 18.1, Factors Affecting Reaction Rates

Visible Results
None to minimal amount of
bubbles; color is clear/
greenish
Bubble formation; color
change from dark green to
light green then wine red

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VI. Discussion
For Part A, there were two reactions involved:

Mg+2 H2 O Mg ( OH )2 + H 2
2Na+2H2 O 2NaOH+ H2

(Test tube A)

Also, the faster reaction rate produced by Na could

be justified through the reactivity series. It is noticed that Na
is placed higher than Mg in the activity series, signifying that
sodium is a more reactive element than magnesium.
In Part B, the following reaction has occurred:
Na2S2O3(aq) + 2HCl(aq)

SO2(aq) + S(s) + H2O(l) + 2NaCl(aq)

(Test tube B)

Although both metals reacted with water and

released hydrogen gas in the process, it was observed that
Test Tube B, containing the sodium metal, reacted faster
compared to A with the Mg ribbon.
The slower reaction rate by Mg could be attributed
to its higher activation energy, the minimum amount of
energy required for a chemical reaction to occur, than that of
Na.
dd

During the reaction between Na 2S2O3 and HCl, a

white sulfur precipitate was formed. The timed rate of its
appearance was used to measure the reaction rates for
every trial.
The second part of the experiment was divided into
two groups. The first set involved changes in the
concentration of Na2S2O3 while that of HCl remained
constant. In the second set, roles were reversed; the
concentration of Na2S2O3 was left unchanged.
The first set shows the effect of the change in
concentration of Na2S2O3 to the reaction rate. It was
observed that as the concentration is lowered, the rate of the
reaction is also lowered. This is because a higher
concentration allows for a higher frequency of collisions and
a faster reaction rate.

Figure 4.0. Superimposed Reaction Profile of Na and Mg with

water (Biolena, 2012)

As stated by the Collision Theory and Transition

State Theory, higher activation energy signifies a lesser
frequency of collisions, thus, a slower reaction. The
experiment conforms to this theory as Mg, with higher
activation energy, did indeed have a slower reaction rate
compared to Na.

Figure 5.0. Activity Series (Pearson Higher Education, n.d.)

Chemistry 18.1, Factors Affecting Reaction Rates

Through plotting ln Rate versus ln [Na 2S2O3] as

seen in Figure 1, their linear relationship is illustrated and the
order of the reaction was determined. Basing on the data
found in Table 4, the order of the reaction was determined by
calculating the slope through linear regression. The slope of
the line is 0.9677, approximately 1. Hence, the order of the
reaction with respect to [Na 2S2O3] is 1. Its linearity was
determined to be 0.9948.
For the second set, the same results were
observed. The lowered concentration of HCl resulted in a
slower rate of reaction. Then, the order of the reaction with
respect to HCl was determined through plotting ln Rate
versus ln [HCl] with the data from Table 5. Using linear
regression, the slope was calculated to be 0.2524. With the
slope being closer to zero, it could be concluded that the
order of the reaction with respect to [HCl] is 0. Its linearity is
0.9568.
The overall order of the reaction is determined by
adding all reaction orders. In the case of this experiment, the
overall reaction order is 1. Knowing the reaction orders
allows for the formulation of the rate law equation which
would be: Rate = k[Na2S2O3]1. By using the rate law
equation, the value of k can be calculated. Through
substitution and isolation of k, the value of k is determined to
be 9.145/s.

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Part C involved the same reaction in Part B, only

with
temperature
being
manipulated
instead
of
concentration. It was observed that an increase in
temperature would result in an increase in the rate of the
reaction. Higher temperatures would lead to an increase in
the kinetic energy of molecules, allowing a large fraction of
molecules to acquire enough energy to overcome the
activation energy. An increase in kinetic energy leads to an
increase in the frequency of collisions, thus a faster reaction
rate.
Although independent from concentration, the value
of k varies at different temperatures. The Arrhenius equation
k = Ae-(Ea/RT) illustrates its dependence on temperature. This
equation was used to determine the activation energy, Ea, of
the reaction and related temperature with the rate constant.
By converting the equation to the form ln k = -(Ea/R)
(1/T) + ln A, both the activation energy and pre-exponential
factor, A, could be calculated. Utilizing the data found in
Table 6, the activation energy is found out to be 45844.4887
joules.
In Part D, The reaction Mg(s) + HCl(aq)

MgCl2(aq) + H2(g) has occurred in two different ways: with a

single Mg strip and pieces of Mg with both having the same
volume. Visible evidence of a faster reaction in the form of
evolution of hydrogen gas occurred with the pieces of Mg.
This faster reaction rate could be attributed to the larger
amount of surface area compared to the single strip of Mg.
An increase in surface area leads to an increase in the
frequency of collisions, thus, resulting in a faster reaction
rate.
The reaction that was observed in Part E was:
5H2O2(aq) + C4H4O62-(aq)

4CO2(g) + 2OH-(aq) + 6H2O(l)

For the uncatalyzed reaction, a slight evolution of

gas in the form of minimal bubbling and a color change of
clear with greenish tint was observed. Violent bursts, on the
other hand, were seen in the reaction with a catalyst (Co 2+).
There was a more visible change in color from dark green, to
light green then finally to wine red. The last color indicates
that the catalyst which was pink in color was not consumed.
These changes in color are caused by the oxidation of Co 2+
(pink) to Co3+ (green) made possible by H2O. Co3+ then
oxides when it bonds with the tartrate ion. Finally, the
solution returns to its pinkish or wine red hue when Co 3+ is
reduced to Co2+.
The presence of a catalyst hastens the reaction rate
by lowering the activation energies of the reactants through

Chemistry 18.1, Factors Affecting Reaction Rates

a different reaction mechanism, thus the catalyzed reaction

is faster than the uncatalyzed.
VII. Conclusion and Recommendations
The five factors that affect reaction rates are the
nature of reactants, the concentration of reactants,
temperature, surface area, and the presence of a catalyst.
The reactivity of reactants determines their rate of reaction.
More reactive substances have lower activation energies
compared to less reactive ones, making their reaction rates
faster. An increase in the concentration of reactants tends to
increase the rate of the reaction. The Law of Mass Action
states that a higher concentration indicates a higher number
of particles, allowing for a greater chance of an effective
collision. At higher temperatures, as well, a greater
distribution of particles with enough energy to react causes a
faster reaction rate. An increase in surface area also means
a higher number of particles being exposed for collision and
causing a faster rate of the reaction. And finally, the catalyst
with its ability to affect activation energy can increase or
decrease the reaction rate without being consumed.
It is recommended to have an ample amount of
glassware available for this experiment, especially test
tubes and 10-mL beakers, for a more efficient and
organized experiment. It is also imperative to always pay
attention to the changes happening in the experiments that
were done for a full grasp of the differences in the various
reactions.
VIII. References
Biolena, F. & Endaya G. (2012). Experiment 1: Factors
Affecting Reaction Rates.
Bissonette, C., Herring, F.G., Madura, J.D. & Petrucci, P.H.
(2011). General Chemistry: Principles and Modern
Applications. 10th ed. Toronto, Canada: Pearson
Prentice Hall
Brown, T., Lemay, H.E., Bursten B., Murphy C., Woodward,
P. & Stoltzfus, M. (2015). Chemistry: The Central
Science. 13th ed. Upper Saddle, NJ: Pearson
Education, Inc.
Chang, R. (2003). General Chemistry: The Essential
Concepts. 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill
Pearson Higher Education. (n.d.) Activity Series of Metals in
an
Aqueous
Solution.
Retrieved
from
http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/3311/339
0507/imag0404/TB04_005.JPG
Nuffield Foundation. (2011) Involvement of catalysts in
reactions.
Retrieved
from

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http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/practicalchemistry/involvement-catalysts-reactions
I hereby certify that I have given substantial contribution to
this report.
______________________________
Noreen Antoinette Jumawid

Chemistry 18.1, Factors Affecting Reaction Rates

_____________________________
Aycee Cleo Sanchez
_____________________________
Trisha Elysse Varquez

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