Lab Report
Part 1: Introduction
Title: Reaction Rate
Purpose: Explore the rate of a chemical reaction at different temperatures and with different
reactant particle sizes.
Question: What are the effects of temperature and a reactants particle size on reaction rate?
Hypothesis:
1) (Temperature) If you increase the temperature of a reaction, then the reaction rate will
increase because particles experience more collision at higher temperatures
2) (Particle Size) If you decrease the particle size of a reactant, then the reaction rate will
increase because more of the reactant’s surface area is exposed allowing more particles
to make contact with each other.
Part 2: Materials and Procedure
Materials:
250 mL graduated cylinder
Thermometer
Water
Timer
Four 250 mL beakers
Seven 1,000 mg effervescent tablets
Two pieces of filter paper
600 mL beaker
Ice
Hot plate
Procedure:
Step 1: Gather Materials
Variation of Temperature
Step 2: Measure the Reaction Rate at ≈ 20°C (Room Temperature)
a) Using a graduated cylinder, fill a 250 mL beaker with 200 mL of water.
b) Measure the temperature of the water and record it in the correct row of Table A.
c) Reset the timer. Start the timer as you place a full tablet into the beaker.
d) Record the reaction time on the Data Sheet in the correct row of Table A.
e) Compute the reaction rate to the nearest mg/L/sec. Record it in the last column of Table
Step 3: Measure the Reaction Rate at ≈ 40°C
Repeat Step 2, heating the water to approximately 40°C using a hot plate during sub-
step a.
Step 4: Measure the Reaction Rate at ≈ 65°C
Repeat Step 2, heating the water to approximately 65°C using a hot plate during sub-
step a.
Step 5: Measure the Reaction Rate at ≈ 5°C
Repeat Step 2, chilling the water to approximately 5°C inside an ice bath during sub-
step a.
(To create an ice bath, place 100 mL of ice and 100 mL of water in a 600 mL beaker of
ice water and wait until the temperature reaches approximately 5°C. To save time, you
may wish
to set up the ice bath, using an additional 250 mL beaker, while working on Step 4.)
Variation of Particle Size
Step 6: Measure the Reaction Rate for a Full Tablet
a) Using a graduated cylinder, fill a 250 mL beaker with 200 mL of water.
b) Reset the timer. Start the timer as you place the tablet in the beaker.
c) Record the reaction time on the Data Sheet in the appropriate row of Table B.
d) Compute the reaction rate to the nearest mg/L/sec. Record it in the last column of Table
Step 7: Measure the Reaction Rate for a Partially Broken Tablet
Repeat Step 6, but this time break the tablet into eight small pieces on a piece of filter
paper. Make sure to place all the pieces into the beaker at the same time.
Step 8: Measure the Reaction Rate for a Crushed Tablet
Repeat Step 6, but this time crush the tablet into tiny pieces on a piece of filter paper.
Make sure to place all the pieces into the beaker at the same time.
Clean-Up
Step 9: Dispose of all samples according to your teacher’s directions.
Part 3: Data
Part 4: Analysis and Conclusion
Analysis:
We had two different hypotheses for the two parts of the lab. Our first hypothesis was, If you increase
the temperature of a reaction, then the reaction rate will increase because particles experience
more collision at higher temperatures. To test the first hypothesis, we measured the reaction rate for
several different temperatures. The data showed that for higher temperatures, the reaction rate
increases. Our second Hypothesis was, if you decrease the particle size of a reactant, then the
reaction rate will increase because more of the reactant’s surface area is exposed allowing
more particles to contact each other. To test the second hypothesis, you measured the reaction
rate for several different particle sizes. The data showed that for smaller particle sizes the
reaction rate increases.
Conclusion:
The purpose of this experiment was to explore the rate of a chemical reaction at different
temperatures and with different reactant particle sizes. The data in the first table show that as
the temperature increases the reaction time decreases and in turn the reaction rate increases.
The second table shows that as the particle size decreases the reaction time increases because
there is more surface area when the particles are smaller. We concluded from this lab that, the
longer the reaction time is, the lesser the reaction rate is. Reaction time is inversely
proportional to reaction rate. We also found that the smaller the particle size, the greater the
surface area. Therefore, particle size is inversely to surface area
Possible source of error would be an error in stopping the timer in time or chips in the tablets.
We could have also not used the filter paper which would have caused us to lose some of the
tablet. To improve this lab, it could be done with different types of reactions or different
temperature or different particle sizes.
