CHM431 PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY

EXP 3: Kinetics: Affecting Rates of Reaction

Name : Nurul Iman Amani Bt Che Awang
Students ID : 201417996
Lab partner : Siti Farah Wahida Ismail (2014773321)

Lecturer : Mr Mohd Sufri Bin Mastuli

Date of Experiment: 6 th November 2017

Date of submission: 4th December 2017

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Title:

Kinetisc: Factor affecting rates of reaction

Objectives:
To study the factors affecting rates of reaction

Introduction:

Chemical kinetics is the area of chemistry concerned with the speeds or rates at which reaction
occur. There are essentially three variables that affect the rate of a chemical reaction;
concentration of reactants, presence of catalyst and temperature. A catalyst will increase the
rate of reaction without being consumed in the reaction itself. As the temperature increases, the
rate of reaction increases.

For the effect of temperature and catalyst on the rate of reaction, we will study the reaction of
oxalic acid H2C2O4 with acidified potassium permanganate, KMnO4, Manganese Sulphate,
MnSO4 will be used as catalyst. The rate of reaction is measured by the time for the dark purple
coour of KMnO4 to disappear. The equation for the reaction is

2MnO4- + 5C2O42- + 16H+ 2Mn2+ + 10CO2 + 8H2O

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Apparatus Chemicals
Stopwatch 0.1M hydrogen peroxide, H2O2

Hot water bath 0.1M potassium iodide, KI

Test tubes 2M sulphuric acid, H2SO4

10cm3 measuring cylinder Starch solution

Dropper 0.01M potassium permanganate,

KMnO4

50cm3 beaker 0.5M oxalic acid, H2C2O4

Conical flask 0.1N manganese sulphate, MnSO4

0.005M sodium thisulphate, Na2S2O3

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

Appropriate PPE, goggles, lab coat and proper shoes

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Procedure

A) Effect of Temperature
1. 3 cm3 of KMnO4 and H2SO4 is measured into a test tube
2. 3cm3 of oxalic acid is measured into another test tube and oxalic acid is added
quickly into the first test tube. The mixture is shake and the stopwatch is started.
The time is recorded until the dark purple colour KMnO4 is disappeared.
3. Step 1 and 2 is repeated at 40C, 50C and 60C.

B) Effect of presence of catalyst

1. Step 1 and 2 in B is repeated but this time, 3 drops of MnSO4 is added to the first
test tube
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A. Effect of Temperature

Concentration of
Temperature Rate of
No. KMnO4 Time (sec)
(oC) reaction (Ms-1)
[KMnO4], M
1 0.01 27 346 - 0.0000289

2 0.01 60 38 - 0.0002632

3 0.01 50 44 - 0.0002273

4 0.01 40 58 - 0.0001724

Calculation to seek for rate of reaction as follows:

Rate = d[KMnO4] Rate = d[KMnO4]
dt dt
Rate = - [KMnO4]i Rate = - [KMnO4]i
tfinal tfinal
1 3
Rate = - (0.01 M) Rate = - (0.01 M)
(346 sec) (44 sec)
Rate = - 0.0000289 Ms-1 Rate = - 0.0002273 Ms-1

Rate = d[KMnO4] Rate = d[KMnO4]

dt dt
Rate = - [KMnO4]i Rate = - [KMnO4]i
tfinal tfinal
4
2 Rate = - (0.01 M) Rate = - (0.01 M)
(38 sec) (58 sec)
Rate = - 0.0002632 Ms-1 Rate = - 0.0001724 Ms-1

* rate = -ve values

-ve means the rate is decreasing.
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B. Effect of Catalyst

Concentration of Rate of
Temperature Time
No. KMnO4 Catalyst reaction (Ms-
(oC) (sec)
[KMnO4], M 1)

1 0.01 25 MgSO4 315 - 0.0000317

Calculation to seek for rate of reaction as follows:

Rate = d[KMnO4]
dt
Rate = - [KMnO4]i
tfinal
1
Rate = - (0.01 M)
(315 sec)
Rate = - 0.0000317 Ms-1
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Discussion

Rate of reaction is referred to the speed of a chemical reaction occurs. Based on the collision
theory, for a reaction between two particles to occur, the particles must collide and the collision
must be effective. The particles must collide with enough kinetic energy and the correct
orientation. The more frequently effective collision occur, the faster the rate of reaction.

The rate of a reaction can be increased by changing certain factors in a reaction like temperature
or concentration of reactants and lowering the activation energy. The factor of temperature and
catalyst are being investigated in the experiment. Rate of reaction can be explained by using
the Arrhenius equation:
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Based on the result obtained in Procedure B, the increase in temperature lead to faster rate of
reaction. The fastest time taken in this experiment is with the temperature at 60C while the
slowest time taken in this experiment is with the room temperature at 27C.

From the Arrhenius equation, it can be seen that the temperature is directly proportional to the
rate of reaction. This can be explain further by collision theory. In collision theory, increasing
the temperature will lead to the increment of the average kinetic energy. It will make the particle
more entropic and this will lead to the higher frequency of the collision. The particles also will
move in higher speed and thus, ease the process of breaking the bond between them. Thus, the
chance of effective collisions increases and therefore, the rate of reaction increases.

Activation energy is the minimum amount of energy required to initiate a reaction. The
Arrhenius equation relates activation energy to the rate at which a chemical reaction proceeds.
A substance that lowers the activation energy of a chemical reaction is called a catalyst.
Basically, a catalyst acts by modifying the transition state of a reaction. Catalysts are not
consumed by the chemical reaction and they don't change the equilibrium constant of the
reaction.

Based on the result obtained in Procedure C, the presence of the catalyst will increase the rate
of reaction. The time taken for the reaction at the room temperature without using any catalyst
was 263 second, but when the catalyst has been taken place, the time taken is changed to the
118 second. This can be concluded that the presence of the catalyst may affect the rate of
reaction.

Presence of catalyst may alter the rate of reaction by changing the reaction and made an
alternative pathway with different activation energy of the reaction. Catalyst will speed up the
rate of reaction by lowering the activation barrier. In conclusion, the presence of catalyst will
make the activation energy become lower and end up with higher rate of reaction.
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Errors
During the experiment, there are some errors that occur which may affect the results of the
experiment
i) The volume of chemicals in each test tube may varies and not accurate due to error that
occured when calibrating, reading and transferring the chemicals. These errors might affect
the concentration of each test tube, thus affect their rate of reaction.
ii) The instrument used along the experiment such as test tube is not clean enough, may have
redundant dust or residual from the experiment before it. So, it can affect the observations
of the reaction.
iii) The temperature specified to each test tube may varies a little from its recommended
temperature and thus may affect the accuracy of the results.
iv) The shaking process may not consistent throughout the experiment, thus may affect the
results obtained.

Safety Precautions
1. Must wear proper attire, goggles and gloves when handling hazardous chemicals.
Chemical such as H2SO4 is corrosive and it may infect our skin. Thus, it is important to protect
our body when conducting this experiment

2. Dispose chemical waste in the disposable container

Never pour chemical waste such as H2SO4 in the sink because it may affect the pipe and also
environment. Instead, keep it in the disposable container which usually is in fume Chamber

Suggestion
When conducting the experiment, there is some factor that affected the result. The results are
not accurate and precise
Make sure the apparatus used clean. If needed, rinse the apparatus with distilled water
and let it to dry or dry it with clean tissue before using.
The students should read the measuring apparatus perpendicular with eyes. Students
should avoid parallax errors during taking the measurements.
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Each experiment must be repeated three times and take the average value. This practice
is essential to improve the results accuracy.
The process of shaking the mixture manually can be improved by using agitation
machine. This machine will enhance the consistency and accuracy of the results.

Questions
1 Define activation energy. What role does activation energy play in chemical
kinetics?
Answer:
The minimum amount of energy required to initiate a reaction. Activation energy is the
quantity of energy necessary in order for a reaction to carry on from the reactants to the
products.

2 Write the Arrhenius equation and define all terms.

Answer:
K = Ae-Ea/RT
K = Rate constant A = Frequency factor
Ea = Activation energy T = Kelvin temperature
R = The gas constant

3 Use the Arrhenius equation to show why the rate constant of reaction:
a) Decreases with increasing activation energy.
b) Increases with increasing temperature.
Answer:

(a) Let's presume activation energy of 25 kJ mol-1. In the equation, we have to note
down that as 50000 J mol-1. The value of the gas constant, R, is 8.31 J K-1 mol-1.

At 20C (293 K) the value of the fraction is:

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By raising the activation energy just a little bit (to 50 kJ mol-1), this increases:

Thus, according to comparison both two different activation energy above, when
the activation energy being increased then the rate constant of reaction, k
decreases. Therefore, the rate constant is inversely proportionally to activation
energy.

(b) Let's presume activation energy of 50 kJ mol-1. In the equation, we have to note
down that as 50000 J mol-1. The value of the gas constant, R, is 8.31 J K-1 mol-1.

At 20C (293 K) the value of the fraction is:

By raising the temperature just a little bit (to 303 K), this increases:

Based on comparison two different temperatures above shows that when the
temperature increase, the rate constant of reaction, k also increases. Therefore,
the rate constant is directly proportional to temperature.
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4 Variation of the rate constant with temperature for the first-order reaction is
given in the following table. Determine graphically the activation energy for the
reaction.
T (K) K (s-1)
298 1.74 X 10-5
308 6.61 X 10-5
318 2.51 X 10-4
328 7.59 X 10-4
338 2.40 X 10-3

Answer:
T (K) K (s-1) ln K (1/T)
298 1.74 X 10-5 -10.96 0.003356
308 6.61 X 10-5 -9.62 0.003247
318 2.51 X 10-4 -8.29 0.003145
328 7.59 X 10-4 -7.18 0.003049
338 2.40 X 10-3 -6.03 0.002959
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ln K = -Ea (1/T) + ln A
R
y = mx +c
c = -5.2
slope, m = = -Ea
R

ln K = -Ea (1/T) + ln A
R
((-6.03) (-10.2)) = -Ea (0.003050 0.003290) + (-5.2)
R
-Ea = R ((-6.03) (-10.2)) - (-5.2)
(0.003050 0.003290)
-Ea = - 3.25 x 105 J/mol
Ea = 3.25 x 105 J/mol = 3.25 x 102 kJ/mol
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Conclusion
As conclusion, the rate of reaction is affected by the temperature and presence of the catalyst.
Higher temperature of the reactant will lead to higher rate of reaction. The presence of catalyst
makes the rate of reaction increases since the formation of products faster than uncatalyzed
reaction.
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References
Boardworks Ltd. (2007) Rates of Reaction. Retrieved from
http://www.montgomery.k12.ky.us/userfiles/1893/Classes/20673/ratesofreaction.ppt. on
27/11/2017.

Clark, J. (2013).The Collision Theory of Reaction Rates. Retrieved from

https://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/basicrates/introduction.html on 27/11/2017.

Clark, J. (2013). Rate Constants and The Arrhenius Equation. Retrieved from
https://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/basicrates/arrhenius.html on 27/11/2017.

Deoudes, A. (2010). A Kinetics Experiment The Rate of a Chemical Reaction: A Clock

Reaction. Retrieved from
http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/WorkArea/DAsset.aspx?id=26338 on 27/11/2017.

The Collision Theory and Activation Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.chalkbored.com/lessons/chemistry-12/collision-theory.ppt on 27/11/2017.