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LAB: Kinetics
December 2nd & 7th, 2016

Purpose
The purpose of this lab is to utilize a micro-scale technique to determine the total rate law for the
oxidation of iodide ions by bromate ions in the presence of acid.

Pre-Lab Questions

1.) a. In each trial, the blue color appeared after 0.0020 M iodine (I2) had been produced. Calculate the reaction
rate for each trial by dividing the concentration of iodine formed by the reaction time.

Trial 1 - (0.040M) / (270s) = 1.48 x 10-4 m/s

Trial 2 - (0.080M) / (138s) = 5.80 x 10-4 m/s
Trial 3 - (0.040M) / (142s) = 1.48 x 10-4 m/s

b. Compare trials 1 and 2 to determine the order of reaction with respect to iodide ions. How did the
concentration of iodine ions change in these two trials, and how did there rate change accordingly? What is the
reaction order for iodine?

From trial 1 to 2, the reaction rate quadrupled. This makes the reaction order first order for iodine.

c. Which two trials should be compared to determine the order of reaction with respect to persulfate ions? What
is the reaction order for persulfate?

Trials 1 and 3 should be compared, as they are held constant in the experiment. The rate of persulfate is
doubled, making the reaction a First Order reaction.

d. Write the rate law for this version of the iodine clock reaction. Could the rate law have been predicted using
the coefficients in the balanced chemical equation? Explain.

Rate = k[I -]1 [S2O8 2-]1

The reaction orders could not have been determined from the balanced equation.

2.) Write the rate law including the value for the specific rate constant, k.

Rate = k[NO2]2 [O2] Specific Rate Constant = 7050 M-2 s-1

The rate increases by 4 - as O2 doubles, the rate of the reaction doubles.

3.) The following data are for the decomposition of N2O5 (g). Graph the data as described in the
experimental directions. Determine the slope. Calculate the energy of activation.
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Slope - 4081.63
Ea - 32.7 kJ/mol

Procedure
There are several steps involved in this experiment:

Part I - Volume
1. First, obtain a micro-tip pipet. Fill the pipet with 3 mL of distilled water.
2. Weigh a beaker using the balance. Record the mass.
3. Using the micro tip pipet, add five drops of water to the beaker, and find the total mass.
4. Add five more drops of water into the beaker. Record the mass once again.
5. Add another five drops of water into the beaker.
6. If necessary, repeat these steps for accurate data.

Part II - Reaction Rate & Rate Law

7. Obtain six micro-tip pipets and fill each with H2O, HCl, Starch, Na2S2O3, and KBrO3. Label each pipet
in accordance to the chemical inside. Place the pipets in a test tube stand.
8. Obtain the 12-well reaction strip. Ensure that it is clean.
9. The first determination will vary the concentration of only KI. Using the table provided as a guide, fill
number one well in the reaction strip with the approximate number of drops of the first five reagents
listed in Experiment #1.
10. Mix the solution well with the stir rod.
11. In the next three wells of the reaction strip, repeat the last two steps using the first five reagent
amounts listed for experiment #2.
12. Fill wells 7,8, and 9 with the first five reagent amounts listed in Experiment #3.
13. Fill wells 10,11, and 12 with the first five reagents amounts listed in Experiment #4.
14. In the first three wells, begin the timer as soon as the two drops of KBrO3 are added.
15. Record the amount of time required for the first tint of blue color to appear.
16. Take the temperature of one of the reaction solutions. Record the results.
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17. Repeat these steps for the other wells, following the amount of drops needed as listed in the table
provided.
18. Clean the contents of the well strips when finished.

Part III - Activation Energy

19. Prepare a water bath at about 40C.
20. Using the amounts listed for experiment #1 in table 1, fill six wells in the reaction strip with the
appropriate number of drops for the first five regents listed. Mix them well, then place the reaction strip
in the water bath.
21. Fill the pipet labeled KBrO3 with 0.040 KBrO3 solution.
-Place this pipet in the water bath for at least five minutes.
22. Take the pipet out of the water bath. With the reaction strip still in the water bath, add two drops of
KBrO3 solution to the first well, stir, and start a timer. Place the pipet back in the bath.
23. Record the amount of time it takes for the first blue color to appear.
24. Repeat these steps for the reaction solutions in wells 2 and 3.
25. Remove the reaction strip and pipet from the temperature bath. Add ice cubes and water to then
create a cold water bath.
26. Place the reaction strip and pipet containing KBrO3 into the cold bath.
27. Repeat the steps used for the warm bath. Record the time for each reaction.

Measurements Taken
-Temperature (C and K)
-Mass of water and beaker after adding set amount of drops of water
-Reaction time after adding KBrO3 to solution to when the blue tint appears in the solution

Materials
Chemicals: Equipment:
-Copper (II) Nitrate solution, 0.1 M, 5 mL -Distilled water
-Hydrochloric acid solution, 0.10 M, 5 mL -Balance
-Potassium Iodide solution, 0.010 M, 5 mL -Beaker, 50-mL
-Potassium Bromate solution, 0.040 M, 5 mL -Pipette
-Sodium Thiosulfate solution, 0.0010 M, 5 mL -12-well Reaction strip
-Thermometer
-Timer(s)
-Stirring rod
-Hot plate
-Test tube stand
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Data
Data Table I - Volume of Water
Mass (grams)

Trial 1 -

Mass of empty beaker 65.548 g

Mass of beaker +5 drops of water 65.795 g

Mass of first 5 drops of water 0.247 g

Average mass of 1 drop of water 0.0494 g

Trial 2 -

Mass of beaker +10 drops of water 66.095 g

Mass of second 5 drops of water .300 g

Average mass of 1 drop of water 0.06 g

Trial 3 -

Mass of beaker +15 drops of water 66.253 g

Mass of third 5 drops of water 0.158 g

Average mass of 1 drop of water .0316 g

Average mass of 1 drop of water (Trials 1-3) .047 g

Data Table II - Reaction Rate and Rate Law

Experiment Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average Temperature
No. (C)

1 5:35.04 3:47.49 6:13.84 5:05.46 20.2 C

2 2:23.34 3:36.89 4:02.67 3:20 21.4 C

3 4:54.75 4:43.42 7:13.09 5:36 20.6 C

4 N/A 5:39.77 2:52.97 4:36 21.3 C

5 N/A 6:33.18 3:09.43 5:11 20.6 C

6 1:49.33 1:43.53 1:48.20 2:31 20.8 C

7 1:13.66 1:20.51 1:13.05 3:46 20.9 C

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Data Table III - Activation Energy

Approximate Measured Measured Measured Trial 1 Trial 2 Average Time
Temperature Temperature, Temperature, Temperature (Time of Rxn, (Time of Rxn, (Time of Rxn,
C C K -1, K-1 seconds) seconds) seconds)

0 2.6 275.6 0.00363 510.3 612.0 561.15

20 24.1 297.1 0.00337 273.53 300.55 287.04

40 40.1 313.1 0.00319 134.0 100.8 117.40

Calculations
-Volume from Mass
(0.05g*1L)/1000mL = 5 x 10-5 L

-Moles
(M*V): 0.001M = x/5 x 10-5 = 5 x 10-8 moles

-Reaction Rate
(0.040M) / (270s) = 1.48 x 10-4 m/s

-Reaction Order
2x=2 -> x=1

-Molarity
2(0.01) / 12 = 0.0017M

-Activation Energy
1.8 x 10-8 / (1.7 x 10-3) (6.7 x 10-3) (1.7 x 10-2)
=15 M-3 s-1

Results
The rate law was found to be (Rate = k[I-][BrO3-][H+]2), where the rate constant, k, was equal to 25
M-3 s-1.

Analysis / Conclusions
The purpose of this lab was to investigate how a reaction rate can be measured, and how certain
conditions like temperature affect reaction rates.
From this lab, I learned how to measure reaction rates and how changes in conditions like
temperature can change the reaction rate. While this lab was admittedly more difficult to complete, it
offered new insight on kinetics and rate laws, which was interesting to say the least.
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There is no percent error calculation for this lab.

One possible systemic error that occurred in our experiment was the difference in drop sizes
when creating our solution. Since not every drop of solution was the exact same size (as evident when
measuring the addition of drops of water to the beaker), the timing of the blue color appearing and the
reaction occurring may be sightly off. While this error would not have an overwhelming effect on our lab
results, it definitely affected the calculations somewhat.
The procedure we created and used in the lab worked well enough to receive all of the result and
values we needed, therefore I would not change the procedure much, if at all. The only major issue
involved in the lab was time, which we did not have enough of. Because of this, we were unable to
complete the catalyst section of the lab.

Post Lab Questions/Analysis

Part 1 - Calculate the Volume of One Drop of Solution
Volume of one drop = (mass of 1 drop (g) / 1.00 g/mL ) x (1L / 1000 mL)
Volume of one drop - 5 x 10-5 L

Part 2A - Calculate the Rate

Moles of S2O32- : 2.0 x 10-9
Mol BrO3 reacted: 3.2 x 10-10

Reaction Rate:
Reaction Rate, M/s

Experiment 1 1.8 x 10-8

Experiment 2 2.8 x 10-8

Experiment 3 1.7 x 10-8

Experiment 4 2.2 x 10-8

Experiment 5 2.0 x 10-8

Experiment 6 5.3 x 10-8

Experiment 7 7.5 x 10-8

Part 2B - Calculate Initial Concentrations

Initial concentration of each reactant:
[I-] [BrO3-] [H+]

Experiment 1 1.7 x 10-3 6.7 x 10-3 1.7 x 10-2

Experiment 2 3.4 x 10-3 6.7 x 10-3 1.7 x 10-2

Experiment 3 5.0 x 10-3 6.7 x 10-3 1.7 x 10-2

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[I-] [BrO3-] [H+]

Experiment 4 1.7 x 10-3 1.3 x 10-2 1.7 x 10-2

Experiment 5 1.7 x 10-3 2.0 x 10-2 1.7 x 10-2

Experiment 6 1.7 x 10-3 6.7 x 10-3 3.3 x 10-2

Experiment 7 1.7 x 10-3 6.7 x 10-3 5.0 x 10-2

Part 2C - Calculate the Order of Each Reactant

Rate = k[I-] [BrO3-] [H+]2

Part 2D - Find the Rate Constant

Experiment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Value of K, 25 25 25 25 23 28 26
M-3 s-1
Average value of k - 25 M-3 s-1

Part 3 - Calculate the Activation Energy, Ea

Measured Measured Average Time, Rate of Rate Constant, ln k
Temperature, K Temperature-1, s Reaction, M/s k, (with units)
K-1

275.6 0.00363 561.15 5.1 x 10-8 15 2.7

297.1 0.00337 287.04 8.3 x 10-7 25 3.2

313.1 0.00319 117.04 2.0 x10-7 61 4.1

Post Lab Questions

1. Why does the reaction rate change as concentrations of the reactants change?

The reaction rate changes as the concentration of the reactants changes because of the direct
relationship between the concentration of the reactant and the reaction rate through rate law.

2. Explain the general procedure used to find the rate law.

To find the rate law, you must first determine the reaction order of each reactant in the experiment
(which is found by conducting several trials in which the concentration of one particular reactant is
varied while the other concentrations are kept constant). From there, the rate constant can be
calculated.
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3. Why does reaction rate change as temperature changes?

The reaction rate changes as temperature changes because the kinetic energy of the molecules and
atoms in the experiment correlate directly with temperature.

4. Explain the general procedure used to determine the activation energy.

The general procedure to determine activation energy is by graphing the natural log of the rate constant,
ln(k), on the vertical axis versus 1/T temperature in Kelvin on the horizontal axis. The slope = -Ea/R,
where Ea is the activation energy and R = 8.314 J/mol x K, to calculate the activation energy for the
reaction.

5. Differentiate between the reaction rate and specific rate constant.

The reaction rate is the rate at which moles of substance change due to the temperature and
concentration of the reactants. The specific rate constant will only change with temperature.

6. Comment on the effect of the catalyst. Predict how the activation energy changes when a catalyst is added to
the reaction.

The addition of the catalyst increased the rate of the reaction. This is because the function of a catalyst in
a chemical reaction is to lower the activation energy of a reaction.

7. Make a general statement about the consistency of the data as shown by calculating the orders of reactants,
and by the graphical analysis which leads to activation energy. Were the calculated orders close to integers?
Did the check of the order give the same value for the order? Were the points on the graph close to a straight
line?

I think the data we collected was generally consistent. When the data was graphed, the graph was close
to a line. The check of the orders showed the same values.

8. Write out the two-point form of the Arrhenius equation which relates rate constants, temperatures, and
activation energies.
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9. How could you improve the data?

I could potentially improve the data by performing this experiment on a larger scale rather than a micro-
scale, as it would reduce the effect of minuscule errors.