Chemistry Coursework

Planning
Aim The aim of the experiment is to investigate factors affecting
the rate of the reaction between Magnesium and Hydrochloric acid.

Variables There are six variables that could affect the experiment, these are

The surface area - The surface area could affect the experiment
because the bigger the surface area the faster the reaction, this is
because the more particles there are the more collisions. If you keep
cutting the material (Magnesium) then the surface area will keep
increasing.
The temperature - The temperature will affect the reaction because
the higher the temperature the faster the reaction. This is because
by heating the temperature there is more energy, this means the
molecules are moving faster and colliding into each other. It also
means that there is more activation energy so there are more
successful collisions.
Catalyst - Catalysts are a chemical that alters the rate of a reaction
by making it faster but without actually taking part in the reaction, it
also remains chemically unchanged.
The length - The length of a material is a variable that will affect the
experiment because the shorter the length of a material the faster
the reaction, however the longer the length of material the slower
the reaction as it takes the particles longer to react.
The concentration (M) - The concentration will affect the experiment
because the higher the concentration the faster the reaction. This is
because you are increasing the frequency of collisions, this means it
is to do with the collision theory. A higher concentration means that
there is less distilled water (cm); a lower concentration means that
there is more distilled water (cm) and less acid (cm).

Low concentration

High Concentration
More Particles, so this means
More collisions which
Means a faster reaction.

The volume - If there was more volume meaning a higher

concentration of acid then there would be more particles to react
with the magnesium therefore speeding up the rate of reaction,
However if there is less volume meaning a lower concentration of
acid then it takes longer for the particles to react with the mg
therefore slowing down the rate of reaction.

Prediction
When I do my experiment I think that as I increase the concentration
it will make the reaction faster. This is because of the collision
theory, which is as you increase the concentration there are more
collisions and successful collisions of the particles increasing the
rate of the reaction.
Another reason why I think that by increasing the concentration it
will make the reaction faster is because, the higher concentration
means there is less distilled water, and I know that the
Magnesium will react faster with acid than with water.

Pilot Experiment

Time
2

average

0.5

285 (s)

246(s)

287 (s)

273 (s)

1.0

112(s)

122 (s)

106 (s)

113(s)

1.5

78(s)

84(s)

60(s)

74(s)

Concentration

2.0

25(s)

28(s)

38(s)

30(s)

Apparatus

Measuring cylinder.
Test tubes.
Test tube rack.
Beaker.
Magnesium (2cm).
Hydrochloric acid (cm).
Distilled water (cm).
Stop clock (to measure how long it takes for Magnesium to
react in concentration).
Stirrer (to sir distilled water and concentration together).

Method
Here is a table to make the dilutions.
Concentration
water (cm)

Volume of 2m acid (cm)

Volume of distilled

2.0

100cm

1.9

95cm

5cm

1.8

90cm

10cm

1.7

85cm

15cm

1.6

80cm

20cm

1.5
1.4

75cm
70cm

0cm

25cm
30cm

1.3

65cm

35cm

1.2

60cm

40cm

1.1
1.0

55cm
50cm

45cm
50cm

The 5 concentrations that I have chosen are 2.0, 1.8, 1.6, 1.4, and
1.2. I chose these concentrations because they were the most
simple to mix.
By using the big chart of all the concentrations I made a smaller
chart to show how I am going to make each concentration.
Concentration
water (cm)

Volume of 2m acid (cm)

Volume of distilled

2.0

100cm

0cm

1.8

90cm

1.6

80cm

20cm

1.4

70cm

30cm

1.2

60cm

10cm

40cm

Firstly I will get the apparatus that I am going to use ready. I will put
three test tubes into the test tube rack, and get all the other
apparatus such as stop clock, beaker and measuring cylinder ready.
I am then going to cut how much Magnesium I am going to use
which is 2cm. I will cut three pieces for the first concentration as I
am going to repeat each test three times.
The next thing I am going to do is use the measuring cylinder to
measure 100cm of Hydrochloric acid. I will then pour the acid that I
measured into the beaker and pour 20cm back into the measuring
cylinder, which I will then pour into one test tube. I will then pour
another 20cm into the measuring cylinder and pour that into the
next test tube, and will do this one more time. This is so each test
tube has 20cm of the concentration 2.0.
I will then drop one piece of the 2cm Magnesium into the 1st test
tube and press the stop clock at the same time. This is to time how
long it takes the Magnesium to react and completely dissolve.
As soon as I can see the Magnesium has completely dissolved I will
stop the stop clock and write down the time. I will then repeat this
for the other two test tubes.
I will then wash the three test tubes out, as well as the beaker and
measuring cylinder.

Then I will move on to the next concentration which is 1.8. I will

measure 90cm into the measuring cylinder and 10cm of distilled
water into the measuring cylinder.
Then I will pour the concentration that I have made into the beaker
and stir the acid and distilled water. Then I will pour 20cm into the
measuring cylinder and pour that into one test tube, and repeat this
twice more.
I will then repeat these steps for the other concentrations (1.6, 1.4,
and 1.2.)
I will then repeat what I did with the first experiment for the rest.
The pilot experiment helped me plan my experiment because I
could tell that by looking at my results just doing one experiment for
each concentration wouldnt give me accurate results so by doing
three and then finding out the average I would be able to have more
accurate results.
For each concentration I did the experiment three times so
altogether I had 15 readings.
I am going to be measuring the concentration (M) and to do this I
will be using a stop clock. I am trying to see how quickly or slowly
magnesium reacts in lower to higher concentrations.

Fair test
To do this I am going to need to make my experiment a fair test.
To make a fair test I will need to

I will do each experiment for each concentration three times.

Make sure that I will use the same amount of concentration
(M) in each test tube. I have decided that I will use 20cm in
each test tube. I will need to try and make sure that the
measurement is exact each time.
I will need to make sure that I have the same amount of
Magnesium each time. Again I will need to try and make sure
that the measurement is the same each time. I am going to
measure 2cm each time for the Magnesium.
I will need to make sure each time I wash out the three test
tubes, beaker, and measuring cylinder; so that when I use a
new concentration it doesnt mix with the concentration that I
have just used.
I will need to make sure that when I always start the stop
clock it is as soon as the Magnesium drops into the test tube
and that when I stop the stop clock it is always when the

Magnesium has completely gone. If I dont do this then my

times will not be accurate.
Safety
I will need to also make sure that the investigation is safe. To do this
I am going to need to

Wear goggles at all times.

Make sure the bottles are always closed, when they are not
being used.
Report any breakages or spillages.
Wash hands immediately if the acid spills.

DiagramConcentration 2.0
Concentration 1.4
This shows that as there
Are more particles, there
Will be more collisions.

Concentration 1.2
As the particles are spread out there will
be
Fewer collisions.
Concentration 1.8

Concentration 1.6

As the concentration
goes down there are less
and less particles which
means there are less
collisions therefore it will
take longer to react, and
will take more time.

OBTAINING EVIDENCE
Results Time
Concentration

2.0

35.47

28.32

1.8

29.41

42.75

3
24.43

Average
29.40

26.00

32.72

1.6

39.73

36.66

36.44

36.71

1.4

42.72

39.85

43.41

41.99

1.2

1.9(87)

55.28

1.06 (27)

63.80

Analysis
By looking at my graph I can see that as the concentration gets
higher the time reduces. This means the lower the concentration the
more time it takes for Magnesium to react, however the higher the
concentration the less time it takes for Magnesium to react. The
curve on my graph shows this quite clearly.
Using my scientific knowledge I know that a rate of a reaction tells
us how quickly a chemical reaction happens, and that we can only
find out a rate of a reaction by doing an experiment. The rate of a
reaction can be found out by either during a reaction measure how
much reactant is used up n a certain time or we can measure how
much product is formed in a certain time. In this experiment we
were finding out how much reactant was being used up in a certain
amount of time because we were finding out how long it took
Magnesium to react in Hydrochloric acid.
My prediction was correct, because in my prediction I said that I
think the higher the concentration the faster the reaction. When I
do my experiment I think that as I increase the concentration it will
make the reaction faster.
By referring to my results it shows for the concentration 2.0 that the
average is 29.40 and that the lowest concentration that I
investigated 1.2 had the average of 63.80. This back up my
prediction showing that the higher the concentration the quicker the
reaction and the less time it takes.

EvaluationThe method that I used was accurate because I had no anomalous

points.
However this doesnt mean my experiment went well. If for all the 3
results for each concentration I had the same time then my results
would have been perfect. For example when I was looking at the
concentration 2.0 rather than getting for my results 35.47, 28.32,
and 24.43 if I had all the same numbers rather than different then it
would have been a very successful experiment.
Although I had no anomalous I said that my results still arent
accurate because the numbers arent the same for the three
experiments I did for each concentration. This means that there are
a few errors in my experiment, although they didnt show up on my
graph.
These errors could be

Because the Magnesium was left on the side when I was

pouring the concentration into the three test tubes it could
have formed an oxide layer. I maybe should have measured
out the concentrations 1st, and then cut the Magnesium.

When I picked the Magnesium up I could have left dirt or

grease on it. Maybe I should have used gloves to pick up
the Magnesium and put it into the test tubes.

When I was trying to cut the Magnesium the same length

some of the Magnesium could have been slightly longer
than the others. After I cut them I could have measured
them again to make sure that the lengths were the same,
and if not alter them and measure them again, to make it
more accurate.

When I was measuring 20cm into each test tube I could

have put a little extra or a little less. I should have made
sure I poured the concentration into a measuring cylinder
on a flat surface and looked very carefully before pouring
the concentration into the test tube.

Although these errors didnt show up on my graph these could be

why my times were different and not all the same.

There are more experiments that I could do to extend my

experiment. These are

I could Increase the concentration. If I increased the

concentration I would be able to see if the experiment would
take less time, and if the Magnesium would react faster.

I could use concentrations in between such as 1.9, 1.7. These

would be able to make my results more accurate and see if
there was a time in between 2.0, and 1.8 that would show the
experiment taking more time to react.

I could change the metal from Magnesium to Zinc, or Calcium

etc. This would mean I would be able to see if the experiment
would be the same, and if my results would change. I would
also then be able to see if its the type of metal that may
affect the experiment as well as concentration.

I could change the acid from Hydrochloric acid to Nitric acid.

This would be able to show me if the Magnesium reacts more
or less with Nitric acid than with Hydrochloric acid. Again I
would also be able to see if the acid affects an experiment and
not just the concentration.

This experiment showed that my results are reliable as they had no

anomalous points, however they were not accurate as when I
repeated the test 3 times for each concentration the numbers were
not all the same. If they were this would mean my experiment was
perfect, and very successful.
My average results did vary but there wasnt a huge amount of
difference, this is good as it shows I was doing the experiment right.
In conclusion although my results were reliable, I would like to have
an opportunity using the corrections that I have discussed that I
could do to make the experiment better, and see if I could improve.