Chapter 20
Rates of reactions
Rate of a reaction
• The rate of a reaction is the speed at which the amount of reactants decreases or the amount of
products increases.
• It is measured as a change in the concentration or amount of reactants or products per unit
time ( per second, per minute etc…)
Activity -5
An investigation of the rate of reaction between marble chips and dilute hydrochloric acid
• Use a measuring cylinder to measure 25 cm3 of 2.00 mol/dm3 dilute HCl.
• Add 5 g (in excess) of large marble chips to a conical flask and place a piece of cotton wool at the
opening of the flask.( the cotton wool is to allow the carbon dioxide to escape during the reaction,
but to stop anything (liquid or solid) in the flask )
• Place everything on a balance and reset it to zero.
• Add the acid to the marble chips and record the reading on the balance every 30 seconds.
• Once the reaction starts , the balance shows a negative mass because the carbon dioxide escapes
through the cotton wool.
• Plot a graph of mass of carbon dioxide lost against time
• The steeper the slope (gradient) of the line , the faster the rate of reaction.
We can calculate the average rate of the reaction during any time interval by using the
rate = mass of CO2 lost / time
For the first minute, rate = 0.47 / 1 = 0.47 g/min
For the second minute , rate = 0.20 / 1= 0.20 g/min
For the first two minutes , rate = 0.67 /2 = 0.34 g/min
The reaction is fastest at the beginning . It then slows down, until it eventually stops because all the
hydrochloric acid has been used up.
We can measure how fast the reaction is going at any time point by finding the slope (gradient ) of
the line at that point.
We can follow the rate of this reaction by measuring the volume of carbon dioxide given off. The
apparatus shown in figure.
Collision Theory
• In order for a reaction to actually happen, the particles have to collide with a minimum amount of
energy , called activation energy.
• The rate of reaction depends on the frequency of collisions. Not all collision ends up in a reaction .
Many particles just bounce off each other .
• The collisions with energy greater than or equal to the activation energy are usually called
successful collisions.
• In the reaction between calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid , particles in the acid have to
collide with the particles at the surface of the marble chips.
Factors Affecting Rates
• There are several factors that can affect the rate of a reaction. These are
Concentration of the reactants in solution
Temperature at which the reaction is carried out
Surface area of solid reactants
The use of a catalyst
• Changes in these factors directly influence the rate of a reaction
• It is of economic interest to have a higher rate of reaction as this implies a higher rate of
production and hence a more efficient and sustainable process
Changing the surface area of reactants
Activity 6
Investigation the effect of changing the surface area of marble chips on reaction rate
• Repeat the experiment in Activity 5 using exactly the same quantities of everything but using much
smaller marble chips.
• The reaction with the smaller chips starts off much faster and finishes sooner.
• Reactions between solids and liquids ( or solids and gases ) are faster if the solids are present as a
lot of small pieces rather than a few big ones.
• The frequency of successful collisions increases as the surface area of the solid increases.
Catalytic converter
• Their function is to render the exhaust gases harmless.
• They contain a series of transition metal catalysts including platinum and rhodium.
• The metal catalysts are in a honeycomb within the converter to increase the surface area available
for reaction.
• The larger surface area means the reaction is very rapid.
• This is important because the gases in the exhaust system are in contact with the catalytic converter
for a only very short time.
Changing the concentration of the reactants
• Repeat the experiment in Activity 5 using the same quantities of everything except half HCl
concentration
• In the original experiment , 25 cm3 of 2 mol/dm3 HCl
• In this experiment , 25 cm3 of 1mol/dm3 HCl
• Reducing the concentration of the acid makes the reaction slower
• Increasing the concentration of the reactants makes the reaction faster because of increased
frequency of successful collision
Activity-7
Investigating the effect of changing the concentration of the acid on the rate of reaction between
marble chips and dilute hydrochloric
• The mass of the marble chips (5g) and the total volume of the acid (25cm3).
• Dilute the original acid (2.00mol/dm3) by adding distilled water to total volume (water and acid)
remains at 25 cm3 .
12.5 cm3 of HCl + 12.5 cm3 od DW to 1mol /dm3
5cm3 of HCl + 20cm3 of DW to 0.4mol/dm3
• A straight line the rate of the reaction is directly proportional to the concentration of HCl.
Changing the temperature of the reaction
• Reactions get faster as the temperature is increased ; the graph is steeper and finishes sooner .
• The same mass of gas is given off because of the same mass quantities of everything in the
mixture.
Two factors
• Increasing the temperature , the particles are moving faster ,collide more frequently , faster
reaction
• A relatively small increase in temperature produces a very large increase in the number of particles
with energy greater than or equal to the activation energy. So , the frequency of the successful
collisions increases.
Changing the pressure of the reaction
• Increasing the pressure of a reaction where the reactants are gases does speed up the
reaction but not on solid and liquid.
• Increasing the pressure by squeezing it into a smaller volume , the particles closer together , more
collide frequently , as increasing the concentration of the gas.
Catalysts
• Catalysts are substances that speed up chemical reactions but aren’t used up in the process.
( chemically unchanged at the end of the reaction)
• Enzymes are biological catalysts.
• Catalysts for decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) are Manganese (IV) oxide (manganese
dioxide) , MnO2 and lead (IV) oxide( PbO2)
• In a reaction, you can write their names or formula over the top of the arrow.
• The transition metals are used widely as catalysts as they have variable oxidation states allowing
them to readily donate and accept different numbers of electrons .
Activity 8
Investigate the effect of different solids on the catalytic decomposition of
hydrogen peroxide solution
• Measure 100cm3 of 2 vol hydrogen peroxide and transfer to a 250 cm3 conical flask.
• Weigh out 0.20 g of manganese (IV) oxide on a balance.
• Add the manganese (IV) oxide to the hydrogen peroxide and quickly replace the bung with the gas
syringe already attached . Swirl the reaction mixture at a constant speed.
• Record the amount of oxygen produced every seconds for 3 minutes and plot a graph of volume of
oxygen versus time .
• Repeat the reaction with 0.20 g of lead(IV) oxide and copper (II) oxide but keep everything else
the same.
How does a catalyst work?
• Different processes require different types of catalysts but they all work on the same principle of
providing an alternate route for the reaction to occur.
• They do this by lowering the activation energy required , hence providing a reaction pathway
requiring less energy.
• If the activation energy is lower , many more collisions are likely to be successful.
• The reaction happens faster because many more particles have energy greater than or equal to the
activation energy for the alternative route.
• The difference in energy between the reactants and the products remains the same with or without
a catalyst.
• Catalysis is a very important branch of chemistry in commercial terms as catalysts increase the rate
of reaction ( hence the production rate ) and they reduce energy costs .
Chapter questions
1.(a)
Collection of gas over water into an inverted measuring cylinder is an acceptable alternative. Pieces
of dolomite are put in a weighing bottle into the conical flask before the reaction starts. This is to
make sure that the reaction can be started without losing any carbon dioxide.
(b) Graph should be completely smooth with the axes properly labelled
(c) At the very beginning of the reaction. The reaction can only happen when acid particles collide
with the solid dolomite. Numbers of acid particles per unit volume are greatest at the beginning of the
reaction before any get used up. Therefore the greatest number of collisions per second and the
fastest reaction is at the beginning.
(d) 70 seconds (read this off the graph and allow some tolerance depending on the size of graph paper
available.)
(e) Volume produced within the first 80seconds = 55cm (The average rate = 55/ 80 = 0.688cm3/s to 3
significant figures)
(f)(i) There would be a lower initial rate; same volume of gas.
(ii) There would be a lower initial rate; half the volume of gas (50cm3).
(iii) The initial rate would be the same; half the volume of gas (50cm3). (The initial rate depends on
the original concentration of the acid that is still the same.)
(iv) The initial rate would be faster; same volume of gas
2. (a) Time taken for the reaction would increase. A reaction happens when acid particles collide with
the magnesium. The concentration of acid is less, so there is less number of acid particles per unit
volume. There will be fewer collisions per second, and therefore a slower reaction.
(b) Time taken for the reaction would decrease. The acid particles are moving faster and so collide
with the magnesium more often. Reaction only happens if the energy of the collision equals or
exceeds activation energy. At higher temperatures more acid particles have energy greater than or
equal to the activation energy, so a greater proportion of the collisions are successful.
(c) Answers could include: Acid will be used up quickly immediately around the magnesium –
stirring brings fresh acid into contact with it; bubbles of hydrogen form around the magnesium,
preventing acid from reaching it – stirring helps to dislodge the bubbles; bubbles of hydrogen lift the
magnesium to the surface (sometimes above the surface) of the acid, lowering contact between acid
and magnesium – stirring helps to prevent this.
(d)
3.(a) Reactions only happen if collisions have energies equalling or exceeding activation energy.
Catalysts provide an alternative route for the reaction with a lower activation energy. More particles
now have energy greater than or equal to the activation energy, so there will be more successful
collisions per unit time.
(b) To find out whether it speeds the reaction up: You could do this most simply by having two test-
tubes with equal volumes of the same hydrogen peroxide solution side-by-side. Add some copper(II)
oxide to one and look for the faster production of bubbles. To show that it is unchanged: Use a
known mass of copper(II) oxide. When the reaction stops, filter through previously weighed filter
paper, allow to dry, and re-weigh. Show that the mass of copper(II) oxide is unchanged. (If it had
changed, and you hadn’t lost any during the separation process, it must have reacted in some way.)
(c)