H/W Due: ________________________________
Calculating Rates Homework
Setting the scene
The rate of a chemical reaction tells you how fast reactants are turned into products. You can work out
the rate of a reaction by finding out how quickly:
the reactants are used up as they make products, or
the products of the reaction are made.
Reactions start off quickly and then slow down as the reaction progresses. The mean rate of a reaction
tells you the mean rate for the reaction after a certain amount of time. You can calculate the mean rate of a
reaction by using the equation:
A graph can be plotted to show how the quantity of product formed or the quantity of reactant used up
changes with time. The gradient of the curve at a specific time indicates the actual rate of the reaction at
that time.
The rate can be calculated by drawing a tangent to the curve at that point in time, followed by
calculating the gradient of the tangent drawn.
Worked example
A student is investigating the rate of the reaction
between magnesium and hydrochloric acid. The
equation for the reaction is;
Mg(s) + 2HCl(aq) → MgCl2(aq) + H2(g)
She measures the volume of gas produced every 10
seconds and plots the results on a graph.
Example 1:
Calculate the mean rate of the reaction after 20
seconds.
Step 1
Using the graph, first of all find out the total volume
of gas produced after 20 seconds.
HINT: always draw horizontal and vertical lines on
the graph to help with reading the values of the
axes.
After 20 seconds, 36 cm3 of gas has been produced.
Step 2
Then substitute the values into the equation;
36 cm 3
20 s 1.8 cm3/s
The units of rate are taken from the equation. In this case a volume in cm 3 is divided by a time in seconds,
and so the units of rate are cm3 per second or cm3/s.
Example 2 (Higher tier):
Calculate the rate of the reaction at 20 seconds.
Step 1
You need to draw a tangent to the curve at the
specified time (a straight line that just touches the
curve at that point).
H/W Due: ________________________________
Step 2
Then construct a right angled triangle, using the tangent as its longest side. Choose two points which you
can easily read the values for from the axes as the corners for the triangle and make the triangle as large
as possible to reduce measurement errors.
Step 3
Calculate the gradient of the tangent using the
equation:
change in y 48 cm3 − 28 cm3 20 cm3
change in x 34 s − 10 s 24 s
20 cm3
gradient =
24 s 0.83 cm3/s
Questions
1 Use the data provided to calculate the mean rate at the time indicated for each of the following
reactions. Remember to include units.
a The decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in which 15 cm3 of oxygen was produced after 6 minutes.
(2 marks)
b The reaction between sodium thiosulfate and acid in which 6 g of sulfur was produced in 24
seconds.
(2 marks)
c The reaction between calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid in which 0.6 g of calcium carbonate
was used up after 2.5 minutes.
(2 marks)
d The reaction between lithium and water in which 2.5 × 10−3 moles of hydrogen is produced in 10
seconds.
(2 marks)
2 Stephen is investigating the rate of the reaction between calcium Time (s) Mass of CO2 (g)
carbonate and hydrochloric acid. The equation for the reaction is; 0 0
CaCO3 + 2HCl → CaCl2 + H2O + CO2 10 13
He adds 5.0 g of calcium carbonate to an excess of hydrochloric acid 20 18
and measures the mass of carbon dioxide given off every 10 seconds. 30 22
The results of his reaction are shown in the table. 40 24
50 25
a Plot a graph of mass of carbon dioxide produced (y-axis) against
60 26
time (x-axis). (4 marks)
70 26
80 26
H/W Due: ________________________________
b Calculate the mean rate of the reaction after 15 seconds.
(2 marks)
c After how many seconds has the reaction finished?
(1 mark)
H/W Due: ________________________________
3 The graph below shows how much hydrogen was given off during the reaction between magnesium
ribbon and hydrochloric acid.
a Calculate the rate of the reaction at:
i 20 seconds
(2 marks)
ii 40 seconds.
(2 marks)
b Show by calculation that the mean rate between 40 and 60 seconds is slower than the mean rate
between 0 and 20 seconds.
(2 marks)
Student follow-up
1 Zinc reacts with sulfuric acid to produce a salt and hydrogen gas.
A student investigates how the size of the pieces of zinc used in reaction affects the rate of the reaction.
He reacts 2.0 g of zinc granules with an
excess of sulfuric acid and measures the
volume of hydrogen given off.
a Name the salt produced in this reaction.
(1 mark)
H/W Due: ________________________________
b Calculate the mean rate of the reaction up to the time the reaction is complete.
(3 marks)
c Calculate the rate of the reaction at 3 minutes.
(2 marks)
2 A student investigates how the rate of reaction is
affected by different factors.
He conducts one experiment in which he uses one B
strip of magnesium, 3 cm long, and 50 cm3 of
hydrochloric acid. The magnesium is the limiting
reactant and the acid is in excess (more than twice
the number of moles needed to react completely with Volume of
the magnesium). 3
gas (cm ) C
He adds the magnesium to the acid and measures
the volume of gas given off at regular intervals. A
He then plots this on a graph. This is line A on the D
graph below.
Time (s)
He then repeats the experiment three times, keeping
everything the same except one variable each time. He plots these results on the same graph and
labels each line, B, C and D.
Use the graph to write the correct line in the box next to the description of the change he made in each
experiment.
Description of the change to the experiment Line which represents this result on the graph
Using twice the length of magnesium (6 cm).
Using half the length of magnesium (1.5 cm).
Using twice the concentration of acid.
(2 marks)