Discussion

I) Determination of rate law and rate constant

The experiments are conducted based on the rate law, Rate = k [I-]n[S2O82-]m where k is the rate
constant while n and m are the reaction orders of I- and S2O82- respectively. As reaction
orders, n and m are defined as the power to which the concentration of that reactants is raised
to and must be determine experimentally. n and m are experimentally determined to be 1. This
means that the reaction is first order with respect to [I-] and first order with respect to [S2O82-].
The overall order of reaction is 2. In the study of the effect of concentration on the rate of a
reaction, it was found that when increasing the concentration of a reactant, the reaction time
getting slower thus increasing the rate.

The collision theory explains the phenomenon by stating that molecules must collide in the right
orientation and possess a certain minimum kinetic energy, called the activation energy to initiate
the chemical reaction. An increase in the concentration of reactants leads to an increase in the
number of reactant molecules having energy equal to or greater than the activation energy.
Hence, increase the collision frequency. The increase in the effective collision leads to an increase
in the reaction rate.

II) Effect of temperature on reaction rate

Based on the results of this experiment, it shows that the rate of reaction increases as
temperature increases. Using the Arrhenius equation,

k=A-Ea/RT

the activation energy, EA can be determined by keeping the concentration of all the reactants
constant while varying the temperature for each experiment. According to the Arrhenius equation,
a slight deviation in temperature will change the reaction rate significantly. A slight increase in
temperature increases the number of colliding particles with activation energy and consequently,
reaction rates significantly. So, since slight deviations in temperature may affect reaction rates
significantly, the temperature at which the experiment was carried out must be kept constant.
The conical flasks were placed in an ice bath to maintain the reaction temperature. There were
several changeability above and below the desired temperatures. Moreover, the time taken for
the blue solution to turn colourless is relatively longer for the lower temperatures which creates
a greater possibility for error. Keeping the temperatures constant can be done by conducting the
experiments in hot plate.

During the experiment, there were have factors that may affects the results. Reactants were
poured imprecisely into the conical flask. There may be leftover reactants in the measuring
cylinder and some reactants may stain the sides of the conical flask during the addition. This
reduces the concentration of the reactants in the conical flask. Pipetting the reactants into the
conical flask would ensure that the reactants are added in the required quantities and the ultimate
results are accurate. There is inaccuracy as the stopwatch was stopped only when a random
colour intensity was observed. There should be a harmony between lab partners as to when the
stopwatch should be stopped. All glassware used in this experiment must be kept clean and dry
to prevent contamination. The solutions should be poured into small beaker before we measured
the volume. The overall volume of the solution was also kept constant at 50mL by adding distilled
water to standardize the conditions of the reaction environment, thus increasing the accuracy.

Reference

Lab Report on Chemical Kinetics, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.art-xy.com/2011/10/lab-

report-on-chemical-kinetics-initial.html?m=1