Rate of Reaction Between Nitric Acid and Marble Chips

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Chemistry coursework

Plan

Aim: To find out if concentration affects the rate of a reaction.

To investigate this aim, I will find out how the concentration of Nitric acid affects the rate of reaction on marble chips by doing an experiment.

Prediction:

I predict that the more the concentrated the acid in the solution, the faster the rate of reaction, so if I have twice the amount of concentration I will have twice the rate. (2 X concentration = 2 X rate).

I have predicted this because in gases and liquids, particles are in constant motion, and to react, the particles collide and a successful reaction happens, so if there is a higher concentration in a reaction, there are more particles to collide and react, so more chances of a successful reaction. Since there are more collisions, the reaction takes place faster.

If there is twice as much concentration, there should be twice the number of particles and twice the amount of collisions, so twice the reaction rate. So although this precise relationship is not always true, as the concentration is doubled, so is the rate of reaction.

For every chemical reaction, there is a certain minimum energy needed in the collisions before a reaction can occur, because the bonds between the atoms must be broken before new molecules can be made. This minimum energy is called the activation energy of the reaction. If the colliding molecules have enough energy, the collision is successful and a reaction occurs. This activation energy can be shown in graphs:
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In my experiment I will need to control the temperature, because this also affects the rate of a reaction. When the temperature is increased, so the reaction rate increases because as the particles get hotter, they move around much quicker with more energy causing harder and more frequent collisions (more likely to be successful in breaking bonds because of this). I will also need to control the surface area of the marble chips because if the surface area is increased, the particles have a larger area on which to collide and break bonds.

Preliminary work:

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