Rates of Reaction Investigation

Aim: To find out the effect of altering the concentration of HCL solution on the rate of reaction between HCL solution and Sodium Thiosulphate solution. Factors Involved: In this investigation I will need to consider the following factors;

Factor HCL Concentration HCL solution (volume) Sodium Thiosulphate Solution (Concentration) Sodium Thiosulphate Solution (volume of solution) Temperature

Type of Variable Independent Variable (what I will be changing) Control Variable (kept constant) Control Variable (kept constant) Control Variable (kept constant) Control Variable (kept constant)

Comment Use percentage dilution Same sample solution volume used throughout investigation. Same sample solution concentration used throughout investigation. Same sample solution volume used throughout investigation. Same temperature used throughout investigation, checked with thermometer. Same glassware to be used throughout investigation Same sized cross and colour will be used and I will be observing the precipitate and cross all the time to make it a fair test. I will be timing this with a stopwatch myself until the cross is no longer visible to eliminate human error.

Equipment

Control Variable (kept constant) Control Variable (kept constant)

Test Cross

Time for cross to be obscured

Dependent variable (what will change and what I will measure)

Apparatus

2 Measuring cylinders Stopwatch Paper with black cross on it Conical flask Safety glasses Sodium Thiosulphate (same concentration each time) Hydrochloric acid (different concentrations) Distilled Water

Method In this investigation I will first of all carry out a preliminary investigation on finding out the effect of altering the Hydrochloric acid concentration on the rate of the reaction. This will allow me to familiarise myself with the apparatus, the different solutions and the reaction itself. By carrying out the preliminary investigation I will be able to get an idea of the range of concentrations to use and overcome any flaws in the procedure if there are any. Firstly I will collect the apparatus and set them up as shown in the diagram on the next page. I will need to draw a black cross on a piece of white paper. Then I will accurately measure out 50cm3of Sodium thiosulphate solution using a measuring cylinder and pour it into a conical flask. The flask will then be placed on top of the black cross. The hydrochloric acid solution concentrations will need to be made by using water and the 2M hydrochloric acid solution. In the preliminary investigation I will be testing three different concentrations these are 2M (this is the 100% solution), the 1M solution which will be (50% solution and 50% water)and 0.5M solution (this is 25% HCL solution and 75% water). These concentrations will be accurately made up and then added to the sodium thiosulphate solution in separate experiments. As soon as the HCL solution is added to the sodium thiosulphate solution in the conical flask the stopwatch will be started and I will look down through the top of the flask and record the time taken for the black cross to be completely obscured by the cloudy reaction mixture. The glassware will need to be rinsed out with distilled water and dried before being reused. I will then repeat the procedure with different concentrations of HCL solution.

In the preliminary investigation I will collect six pieces of data. The experiment will be carried out at three different concentrations of HCL solution and each experiment will be repeated to get an average result. This will increase the

reliability of the results. The range of concentrations as mentioned before will be; 2M HCL solution (100% concentrated), 1M and 0.5M HCL solutions. The data will be as accurate as possible by ensuring a fair test is carried out. This will be done by ensuring that the following actions are taken; The Sodium Thiosulphate Solution concentration will be kept constant this will be done by making a sample stock solution of Sodium Thiosulphate Solution of a known concentration which will then be used in all the experiments. The volume of Sodium Thiosulphate Solution will need to be kept constant this will be done by making use of the measuring cylinder so that 50cm3of Sodium thiosulphate solution is accurately measured out and poured into the conical flask for each experiment.

We then emptied out the contents of the beaker, cleaned it out and dried it out. Next, we added 45 cm3 of Sodium Thiosulphate; we kept the HCL acid constantly at 5 cm3. Now, because we have to keep the volume the same for it to be a fair test, we added 5 cm3 of water. (We had to add the Sodium Thiosulphate and the water at the same time for this to be a fair test also). We then recorded the time for the cross to become completely obscured. We repeated this many times, adding different amounts of Sodium Thiosulphate and water each time, and recording the time taken each time.