Jonathan Khan February 12, 2011

Ms. Crowley Determining the Order of a Chemical Reaction Lab

Data Tables:

S2O32-
Drops 4 8 12 16 20
Molarities of Stock Solutions

Time 1821:00 152:00 88:00 66:00 39:00 Solution Molarity

(sec) S2O32- 0.15 M
HCl 6.00 M

Concentration Ln(concentration
Time (secs) * ) (Concentration)-1
Trial 1 1821 0.02 -3.9 50
Trial 2 152 0.04 -3.2 25
Trial 3 88 0.06 -2.8 17
Trial 4 66 0.08 -2.5 13
Trial 5 39 0.1 -2.3 10

HCl
Drops 2 4 6 8 10

Time 45:00 43:00 42:00 41:00 40:00

(sec)

Concentration
Time (secs) * Ln(Concentration) (Concentration)-1
Trial 1 45 0.4 -0.92 2.50
Trial 2 43 0.8 -0.22 1.30
Trial 3 42 1.2 0.18 0.83
Trial 4 41 1.6 0.47 0.63
Trial 5 40 2.0 0.69 0.50
*see next page for calculations for molarity.

Calculations for Molarity:

S2O32- Trial 1
Trial 1 2 Drops 6 .00 M = 4.0 x 10-1 M
4 Drops 0.15 M = 2.0 x 10-2 M 30 Drops 1
30 Drops 1
Trial 2
Trial 2 4 Drops 6.00 M = 8.0 x 10-1 M
-2
8 Drops 0.15 M = 4.0 x 10 M 30 Drops 1
30 Drops 1
Trial 3
Trial 3 6 Drops 6.00 M = 1.2 x 100 M
12 Drops 0.15 M = 6.0 x 10-2 M 30 Drops 1
30 Drops 1

Trial 4 Trial 4
16 Drops 0.15 M = 8.0 x 10-2 M 8 Drops 6.00 M = 1.6 x 100 M
30 Drops 1 30 Drops 1

Trial 5 Trial 4
20 Drops 0.15 M = 1.0 x 10-1 M 10 Drops 6.00 M = 2.0 x 100 M
30 Drops 1 30 Drops 1

HCl

Calculations for k

S2O32-: second order, k= slope of the [A]-1 vs. Time graph.

Slope = ΔY = (50-10) = 2.2 x 10-2
ΔX (1821-39)
-2
k = 2.2 x 10
HCl: zero order, k= -slope of [HCl] vs. Time graph.
Slope = ΔY = (.4-2) = -3.2 x 10-1
ΔX (45-40)
-1
k = 3.2 x 10
Graphs:
Conclusions:

1. Which of the three graphs in Part 1 gave the best straight line?
a. The graph that gave the best straight line in part 1 was the 1/concentration of S2O32- vs. time
graph.

2. What is the order of the reaction with respect to S2O32-?

a. The order of the reaction with respect to S2O32- is a second order reaction. This is because the line
that gave the best fit was the 1/concentration of S2O32- vs. time, which is also the indicator for a
second order reaction, when the line for that specific data is graphed.

3. What is the value of a in the rate expression, rate = [S2O32-]a [H+]b?

a. The value of a in the rate expression, rate = [S2O32-]a [H+]b is 2. Indicating that the order of
[S2O32-] is a second order reaction.

4. Which of the three graphs in Part 2 gave the best straight line?
a. The graph that gave the best straight line in part 2 was the concentration of HCl vs. time graph.

5. What is the value of b in the rate expression, rate = [S2O32-]a [H+]b?

a. The value of b in the rate expression, rate = [S2O32-]a [H+]b is 0. Indicating that the order of [H+] is
a zero order reaction. With the value of b being zero, this indicates that the concentration of HCl
has no affect whatsoever on the overall rate of the reaction.

6. What is the overall order of the reaction of S2O32- with H+?

a. The overall order of the reaction of S2O32- with H+ is second order. This is justified by the rate
law of the reaction being rate = k[S2O32-]2 [H+]0, with anything to the zero exponent being one,
the H+ drops out of the equation leaving just rate = k[S2O32-]2. Meaning a second order reaction

7. Three sources of experimental error are:

a. The X did not completely disappearing will result in a reaction that has not gone to equilibrium.
This invalidating all calculations based on that one well, because all calculations are designed to
be accurate only at chemical equilibrium.
b. Not keeping the volume of liquid in each well will create error by changing the molarity of each
well from where it needs to be. And seeing as chemical equilibrium is measured based on
concentrations, all calculations using those values will be incorrect. This is because all
calculations using values from the wells are designed to be accurate only at chemical
equilibrium.
c. Not accurately timing how long it takes each well to reach equilibrium will create extreme error,
because time is used in every single equilibrium calculation. If the timing is off, then the value of
k will also be off. As will the rate of the reaction, because that is thoroughly based on time.