Rate of Reaction Design Lab
SCH4U7-02
Monday, October 21, 2013
Designing an Experiment to Investigate Factors Affecting Rate of Reaction
Introduction
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2), is the most simple peroxide and commonly used in several household items such as toothpaste or as an alternative to bleach. However hydrogen peroxide it is a very dangerous substance when accumulated in large amounts. If that situation occurs this substance must be decomposed. But how can we decompose this reaction? Well it decomposes by itself very slowly (2H2O2(aq) -> 2H2O(l) + O2(g)), but that would take too long. This reaction can be sped up with various methods such as modifying the temperature, modifying the concentration, or introducing a catalyst. We will be specifically looking at the effect of concentration of the H2O2 solution rather than the effect of the temperature. We will also introduce a catalyst, Manganese(IV) Oxide (MnO2), in order to speed up the reaction so that it can occur, however it will be controlled so that we only look at the effect of concentration of H2O2. This will be done by measuring the volume of O2 produced.
Research Question In the decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide, how will changing the concentration of a H2O2 solution affect the volume of O2 produced in its gaseous state, thereby affecting the rate of reaction?
Hypothesis If we increase the concentration of a reactant the number of particles that are available to react per unit area will also increase. In saying this, if we increase the concentration of H2O2 solution, it will be able to react with MnO2 more frequently therefore decomposing the reaction further. This should create a higher rate of reaction. Since the volume of oxygen produced equals the amount of mass lost by the system, we can see by the equation:
"rate of reaction = volume of substance produced (in a specified time) / time that if the mass lost by the system increases, the rate of reaction should also increase.
I predict that when we
Monday, October 21, 2013
Designing an Experiment to Investigate Factors Affecting Rate of Reaction
Introduction
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2), is the most simple peroxide and commonly used in several household items such as toothpaste or as an alternative to bleach. However hydrogen peroxide it is a very dangerous substance when accumulated in large amounts. If that situation occurs this substance must be decomposed. But how can we decompose this reaction? Well it decomposes by itself very slowly (2H2O2(aq) -> 2H2O(l) + O2(g)), but that would take too long. This reaction can be sped up with various methods such as modifying the temperature, modifying the concentration, or introducing a catalyst. We will be specifically looking at the effect of concentration of the H2O2 solution rather than the effect of the temperature. We will also introduce a catalyst, Manganese(IV) Oxide (MnO2), in order to speed up the reaction so that it can occur, however it will be controlled so that we only look at the effect of concentration of H2O2. This will be done by measuring the volume of O2 produced.
Research Question In the decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide, how will changing the concentration of a H2O2 solution affect the volume of O2 produced in its gaseous state, thereby affecting the rate of reaction?
Hypothesis If we increase the concentration of a reactant the number of particles that are available to react per unit area will also increase. In saying this, if we increase the concentration of H2O2 solution, it will be able to react with MnO2 more frequently therefore decomposing the reaction further. This should create a higher rate of reaction. Since the volume of oxygen produced equals the amount of mass lost by the system, we can see by the equation:
"rate of reaction = volume of substance produced (in a specified time) / time that if the mass lost by the system increases, the rate of reaction should also increase.
I predict that when we