Alex T.

Zhao
Gregg Kerr
IB Chemistry HL
May 28, 2013
Effect of Temperature on Reaction Rate
Background:
The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the effect of temperature on reaction
rate. The reaction observed is between thiosulfate and hydrochloric acid:

S2O2
3(aq) 2H (aq) SO2(aq) H 2O(l )

The time taken for the precipitate of sulfur to obscure a cross marked on a
piece of paper paced under the reaction flask is used as a measure of the
reaction rate. The less time it takes for the cross to disappear, the faster
the rate of reaction.
Data Collection:
Temperature (C)
20
30
40
50
60

Time (seconds)
37.82
23.85
17.78
10.19
6.38

1/time (s-1)
0.0264
0.0419
0.0562
0.0981
0.1567

Graph of 1/time against temperature:

IB Chemistry HL Lab 14

May 28, 2013

Processing of results, and questions:

1. What effect does increasing the temperature have on the reaction rate?
An increase in temperature increases the reaction rate. This is supported by the graph, which
delineates an upward sloping relationship between 1/time and temperature. What this
means is that as temperature increased, 1/time increased, which suggests time is
decreased. If time decreased, then the rate of reaction increased.
2. Suggest two reasons that contribute to the change in reaction rate with temperature.
First of all, as temperature of the system is increased, the average kinetic energy of the
reactant molecules is increased. This means that there is a larger proportion of molecules with
higher kinetic energy, which means a larger proportion of collisions will have enough energy
to overcome the activation energy barrier, thus increasing the rate of reaction. Furthermore, as
temperature is increased, the reactant particles are moving faster, which implies a higher
frequency of collisions between reactant particles. A higher frequency of collisions means
that the reaction rate is increased.

IB Chemistry HL Lab 14

May 28, 2013