Rory Good
Therefore, I also predict that the following compounds will not be good catalysts:
- Aluminium oxide
- Zinc oxide
- Iron III oxide
Quite obviously, this is because the above compounds do not contain transition metals – Lead is a group IV metal and Aluminium is a group III metal.
Graphs to show my predictions on the rate of product produced and the rate of difference of reactants
Variables
The following input variables will be present in this experiment. The variables marked with an asterisk (*) will varied, the others will be kept constant:
- Amount of catalyst. *
- Amount of hydrogen peroxide.
- Temperature of hydrogen peroxide.
- Temperature of catalyst.
In addition, the following output variables will also be present. The variables marked with an asterisk (*) will be measured:
- Amount of oxygen produced.
- Time taken to produce oxygen. *
- Appearance of decomposition.
Rory Good
Method
Apparatus
Safety
Whilst this experiment is relatively safe, there are still safety considerations that must be adhered to:
- Due to the dangerous nature of many of the compounds involved in this experiment, it is important that safety goggles or safety glasses are worn during all tests.
- It is equally important to avoid skin contact with the compounds, as some are irritants. Ensuring that a suitable method is followed precisely so that there are no unexpected events that would lead to skin contact can do this.
Variables
The following input variables will be present in this experiment. The variables marked with an asterisk (*) will varied, the others will be kept constant:
- Types of catalyst. *
- Amount of catalyst. *
- Amount of hydrogen peroxide.
- Temperature of hydrogen peroxide.
- Temperature of catalyst.
Rory Good
In addition, the following output variables will also be present. The variables marked with an asterisk (*) will be measured:
- Amount of oxygen produced.
- Time taken to produce oxygen. *
- Appearance of decomposition.
MAIN
EXPERIMENT
Method
Apparatus
Safety
Whilst this experiment is relatively safe, there are still safety considerations that must be adhered to:
- Due to the dangerous nature of many of the compounds involved in this experiment, it is important that safety goggles or safety glasses are worn during all tests.
- It is equally important to avoid skin contact with the compounds, as some are irritants. Ensuring that a suitable method is followed precisely so that there are no unexpected events that would lead to skin contact can do this.
Rory Good
Description of Method
The above apparatus will be set up. The bung will then be removed temporarily and the catalyst dropped into the hydrogen peroxide. The bung will then be replaced immediately and the stopwatch started. As soon as the test tube is filled with oxygen the stopwatch will be stopped and the time recorded.
As was mentioned previously, the variable that will be varied will be the amount of catalyst. The former will be investigated by testing five different weights of catalyst: 0.2g, 0.4g, 0.6g, 0.8g and 1.0g. The amount of hydrogen peroxide to be used will be 20ml.
Variables
The following input variables will be present in this experiment. The variables marked with an asterisk (*) will varied, the others will be kept constant:
- Amount of catalyst. *
- Amount of hydrogen peroxide.
- Temperature of hydrogen peroxide.
- Temperature of catalyst.
Results
Table to show the rate of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide adding different amounts of Manganese Oxide
Rory Good
Graph to show the rate of decomposition of hydrogen peroxide adding different amounts of Manganese Oxide
Evaluation
The results supported my predictions that I had made earlier on during the experiment towards the rate of decomposition and the rate of reaction between the catalyst and the solution. As the amount of Manganese Oxide was larger there was a much larger reaction and so did the surface area. The most difficult part of this experiment was replacing the bung on the conical flask after placing Manganese Oxide into the flask. This let the catalyst react with the hydrogen peroxide before we could begin to measure the time it took to react and how long the reaction lasted. This was the only flaw to the whole experiment so I would say that the results are pretty reliable.
It was also better to use small amounts of the catalyst because if you use too much to start with it is almost impossible to measure how long it took for the reaction to start, as the reaction was so fast. So lowering the amount used/added was good as the time taken could now be measured.
