To Find Out How Much Surface Area Affects the Rate of a Reaction Between a Potassium Tablet (K2co3) and Hydrochloric Acid (Hcl).

Diagram

Plan

First you must add water to a basin (enough to put an upside-down 250 ml measuring cylinder in), fill a 250 ml measuring cylinder and place it upside-down in the basin and keep it off the bottom by a clamp. You must then add 30 ml of HCl to a conical flask, then place a K2CO3 tablet to it, place a bung with a tube coming out of the top and going into the basin and into the measuring cylinder, you must time the experiment for 3 mins. Repeat this experiment with exactly the same quantities. Then repeat this (including the repeat with the same quantities) cutting the K2CO3 into 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8.

Results

Time

Taken

(mins)

st

0:30

:00

:30

2:00

2:30

3:00

Attempt

34

50

80

90

94

95

(amount

/2

34

58

76

80

82

---

of gas

/4

39

50

72

75

---

---

Produced ml)

/8

62

73

80

---

---

---

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---------

---------

---------

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2nd

63

84

00

05

---

---

Attempt

/2

62

81

82

90

00

---

/4

57

82

99

02

02 1/2

---

/8

34

72

79

80

---

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Conclusion

The results should have concluded my theory that as the size of the K2CO3 decreased the rate of the reaction should have increased. I can prove this because the smaller the pieces of K2CO3 the more area there is for the HCl to collide with and the reaction should get faster. This is shown in the diagrams below:

These diagrams are showing that because the K2CO3 particles are more dispersed in the right diagram than the left and so there is more chance of a HCl particle hitting a K2CO3 particle.

Evaluation

This experiment was badly done by me. This is partly because I was working on my own (there are no other reasons that I can think of). I think I could have taken more time on it and better care. The second set of results reflects the value of the results better than the first set of results. In all of the tests that I did there were three ominous results and this have been highlighted on the graphs. Overall the experiment did not turn out the way that it should have.