To find the effects of change of the variable on a reaction between Magnesium and Hydrochloric acid

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Aim: To find the effects of change of the variable on a reaction between Magnesium and Hydrochloric acid

Reactions occur when Hydrochloric acid particles collide with the Magnesium. They all work by increasing the number of Magnesium collisions. There are a number of factors that change the speed of a reaction:

* Temperature

* Concentration of Hydrochloric acid

* Surface area

* Addition of a catalyst

To make a choice for this experiment we have to choose which is the most feesable in the circumstances.

Temperature: Temperature will affect the rate of reaction because an increase will speed up the movement of the Particles so that they collide more frequently. However, it is not a good option in the circumstances because the required amount of variations is 5, and using an icebox, room temperature and heating (we would not be able to keep different levels of heat constant) gives us only three variations. In addition, the reaction between a metal and an acid is exothermic, so the temperature of the experiment would not be the same half way through as at the beginning.

Surface area: Increasing the surface area of the magnesium would increase its amount of exposure to the Hydrochloric acid at one time, therefore increasing the rate of reaction. However, it is quite difficult to measure the surface area accurately enough to say that one specimen is exactly double (i.e.) the surface area of another

Catalyst: There is no substance that can speed up the rate of reaction whilst staying separate from Magnesium and Hydrochloric acid.

Concentration: You can accurately measure the concentration of an acid in Molars (M). If you increase the concentration of the Hydrochloric acid, then the rate of reaction is increased, proportionally.

I am going to use a total of six concentrations:

* 0.0 Molars

* 0.5 Molars

* 0.75 Molars

* 1.0 Molar

* 1.5 Molars

* 2.0 Molars

I will use for each a solution of water (neutral), and Hydrochloric acid (2 M). This is the table to show how the different strengths were achieved:

Concentration achieved (M)

Amount of water (ml)(%of sol)

Amount of HCl (ml)(%of sol)

0.0

50 (100%)

0 (0%)

0.5

37.5 (75%)

2.5 (25%)

0.75

31.25 (66.5%)
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8.75 (33.5%)

.0

25 (50%)

25 (50%)

.5

8.75 (25%)

37.5 (75%)

2.0

0 (0%)

50 (100%)

To make this simpler: in the 0.75M, I used an 80ml test tube to make the soloution 5/8 Hydrochloric Acid and 3/8 Water, then poured 50ml of it into a test tube, so the results above are the precise (although not the ones we used) amounts needed to achieve these concentrations

Graph Prediction:

Rate

Y=X

Concentration

Because an increase in concentration is proportional to ...

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