Sannidhi Bosamia

10R

Partner: Xahra Batrisyia

Chemistry Lab Report Investigating Rate of Reaction

1. Introduction
a. Background Information
All chemical reactions have a rate of reaction. According to UC Davis Chemistry Wiki, rate of
reaction is defined as the change in concentration of a substance divided by the time interval
during which this change is observed. The online Encyclopaedia Britannica defines rate of reaction
as the speed at which a chemical reaction proceeds. In both the different sources, time/speed is
required. Thus, the rate of reaction is based on the speed or the time taken for a reaction to occur.
There are various ways to increase the rate of a reaction as some reactions are much slower when
done without any way to increase the rate of the reaction. The table below shows the different ways
to increase the rate of a reaction and how it affects the reaction.
Concentration
When a substance
in the reaction
has higher
concentration, it
has more chances
to collide with
other particles,
successfully.

Surface Area
By increasing the
surface area of
the substance, all
the atoms are
exposed and thus
the chances of a
collision
occurring
increases.

Temperature
When the
reaction is
heated, all the
particles take in
the heat and
move faster
increasing the
energy of
collision and
chances of
collision.

Pressure
By increasing the
pressure of the
container
containing the
reaction, the
chances of
collision between
particles will
increase making
the reaction
faster.

Catalyst
When a catalyst is
added to the
reaction, the
activation energy
of the particles
are lowered
down which
allows the
particles to
collide
successfully
faster.

(Gallagher and Ingram, YouTube).

The collision theory is used when discussing the increment in the rate of reaction when the factors
above are taken into account. The collision theory states that there must be enough energy for the
particles to collide and the collision has to be successful.
In the experiment conducted by Xahra and I to investigate the effect of the factors on the rate of a
reaction, we chose the factor temperature.
b. Aim/Objective
-

To determine the effect of temperature on the reaction between sodium thiosulfate and
hydrochloric acid.
To observe the relationship between the increasing temperature hydrochloric acid and
sodium thiosulfate to the time taken for the cross, on a piece of paper, to vanish.
To note the change in the rate of reaction when the temperature of the hydrochloric acid is
increased to the time taken for the cross to disappear.

Sannidhi Bosamia
10R

Partner: Xahra Batrisyia

c. Research Question
How does the increasing temperature of the hydrochloric acid affect the time it takes for the sodium
thiosulfate precipitate to make the cross disappear?
d. Hypothesis
The hotter the hydrochloric acid when it is put into the solution of sodium thiosulfate, the faster the
precipitate will be formed and hence the cross will disappear faster.
e. Variables
Constant Variables:

Amount of sodium thiosulfate solution

Concentration of sodium thiosulfate solution
Temperature of sodium thiosulfate solution
Amount of hydrochloric acid
Concentration of hydrochloric acid
The size of the paper
The size of the cross
The pressure of the container

Manipulated Variable:

The temperature of the hydrochloric acid

Responding Variable:

The time taken for the cross on the piece of paper to disappear

2. Procedure
a. Materials
Sodium Thiosulfate solution
Hydrochloric acid
4 beakers
Bunsen Burner
Thermometer
Piece of Paper
Black Marker (to draw the cross)
Stopwatch
Tripod Stand
Wire Gauze

Sannidhi Bosamia
10R

Partner: Xahra Batrisyia

b. Diagrams/Photographs

Source: www.leekhigh.staffs.sch.uk
The precipitate forms
which causes the cross
to disappear.

Source: youtube.com

c. Method
1) We marked a piece of paper with a cross using a black marker.
2) We had two beakers, one containing hydrochloric acid and the other containing sodium
thiosulfate. We added 30 ml of sodium thiosulfate into a different beaker using a small
beaker and 50 ml of hydrochloric acid into another beaker.
3) We put the beaker with the sodium thiosulfate on top of the cross marked on the piece of
paper.
4) We poured the hydrochloric acid (room temperature - 25C) into the sodium thiosulfate.
5) We instantly started the stopwatch to take down the time it takes for the cross to disappear.

Sannidhi Bosamia
10R

Partner: Xahra Batrisyia

6) For the next temperature (30C), we used a Bunsen burner to heat up the hydrochloric acid.
7) A tripod stand topped with a wire gauze was set up. A lit up Bunsen burner was placed
below the tripod stand.
8) 50 ml of hydrochloric acid was measured and poured into a beaker.
9) A thermometer was placed inside the beaker once the beaker was placed onto the tripod
stand.
10) The beaker was kept on top of the tripod stand until the temperature reached the desired
temperature.
11) While the solution was heated up, another beaker with 30ml of sodium thiosulfate was
prepared.
12) Once the hydrochloric acid reached the desired temperature, it was poured into the beaker
containing the sodium thiosulfate solution.
13) The time for the sodium thiosulfate to dissolve was taken down.
14) We repeated the steps 6-13 for the following temperatures: 30C, 35C, 40C and 45C.
15) We repeated steps 2-5 when using hydrochloric acid of room temperature.

d. Safety Measures
Since we are dealing with hydrochloric acid, a few safety measures have to be taken.

Due to its highly corrosiveness, hydrochloric acid is harmful when in contact with skin.
o Safety gloves should be worn to prevent any contact with skin in case the HCl spills.
Rinse hands when HCl comes into contact with skin.
Lab coats should be worn to prevent contact with clothes and to prevent further exposure
of skin.
HCl should also be handled with care so that it does not come into contact with skin and the
container containing the acid should be transported with care to prevent the breakage of
the container and a spill.
If sodium thiosulfate or HCl come into contact with eyes, eyes should immediately be rinsed.

3. Results
a. Raw Data
Temperature
(Celsius)
-Try 1(seconds)
-Try 2(seconds)
-Try 3(seconds)
-Average(seconds)

25

30

35

40

45

66.46

50.22

48.08

36.65

30.91

67.21

48.54

30.04

28.08

18.50

37.97

38.61

30.03

24.21

17.91

57.21

45.79

36.05

29.65

22.44

Sannidhi Bosamia
10R

Partner: Xahra Batrisyia

Try 2

Try 1

80

TIME TAKEN (SECONDS)

TIME TAKEN (SECONDS)

b. Processed Data and Analysis

60
40
20
0
25

30

35

40

80
60
40
20
0
25

45

30

35

TEMPERATURE (C)
Try 1

Try 3

45

Average

50

TIME TAKEN (S)

80

40
30
20
10

60
40
20
0

0
25

30

35

40

25

45

30

35
TEMPERATURE (C)

TEMPERATURE (C)

Average

Try 3

Overall
80
70
60

TIME TAKEN (S)

TIME TAKEN (S)

40

TEMPERATURE (C)
Try 2

50
40
30
20
10
0
25

30

35

40

TEMPERATURE (C)
Try 1

Try 2

Try 3

Average

45

40

45

Sannidhi Bosamia
10R

Partner: Xahra Batrisyia

As can be seen from the charts above, in all the three tries, the line is going downwards as the
temperature increases. The average also shows a decreasing time as the temperature increases.
Despite the slight increase in temperature in the third try whereby the lower temperature takes
less time than the higher temperature. This can be due to various factors which will be discussed in
the evaluation section of the lab report. In the last chart where all the trials and the average is
shown, it can be seen how different and similar all the different tries and the average are.
A line graph is chosen to clearly show whether as the temperature increases, whether the time it
takes for the x to disappear increases or decreases. By looking at all five charts (especially the
average graph), it is clearly demonstrated that our hypothesis has been proven correct.
4. Discussion
a. Conclusion
As can be seen from the data analysis, the hypothesis we had made (the hotter the hydrochloric
acid when it is put into the solution of sodium thiosulfate, the faster the precipitate will be formed
and hence the cross will disappear faster) is correct due to the fact that as the temperature rose,
the time taken for the cross on the piece of paper to disappear was faster. Except for the third try
whereby the time recorded for room temperature (25C) was less than that of 30C a hotter
temperature. This data disagrees with the hypothesis, however the other tries say otherwise.
Hence, we had done the experiment three times using five different increasing temperatures.
b. Evaluation
There were various factors which manipulated the most accurate and reliable data possible. The
main factor which affected our experiment was heat. The surrounding air of the table was heated
due to the continuous combustion of gas in the Bunsen burner. This in turn resulted in an increase
in temperature of room temperature in the area we were doing the experiment. Since the beakers
where the reaction was occurring was near the Bunsen burner, the heat produced from the burner
resulted in the increase. The reason behind this is that we did not want to let the fire go off as me
and my partner both have a fear of fire and we did not want to disturb our peers to light our fire
approximately fifteen times and thus let the combustion occur. We were meant to use a heat bath as
we were heating an acid. Since me and my partner did not use this apparatus, we suffered through
such consequences. Nonetheless, our results agreed to our hypothesis and that temperature does in
fact increase the rate of reaction which was stated in the introduction of this report.
Secondly, our stopwatch (despite being digital) may have been started a bit early or a bit late
resulting in an inaccurate result. Additionally, we used a stirrer for some of the trials and not for the
others. This may have affected the time it would take for the sodium thiosulfate to react with the
hydrochloric acid.
As discussed above, these factors affected the accuracy and reliability of the experiment. However,
the other trials do in fact make this experiment reliable but not completely accurate.

Sannidhi Bosamia
10R

Partner: Xahra Batrisyia

c. Final Conclusion
To conclude, our hypothesis was proven correct. However, various factors affected the reliability
and accuracy of the experiment. Therefore, our experiment is not very accurate but its reliability is
present due to the three trials we did which proved our hypothesis true.

Sannidhi Bosamia
10R

Partner: Xahra Batrisyia

Bibliography
Laidler, Keith J. "Reaction Rate (chemistry)." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 May 2014.
<http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/492738/reaction-rate>.
Lower, Stephen. "Reaction Rate." Chemwiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 May 2014.
<http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Physical_Chemistry/Kinetics/Reaction_Rates/Reaction_Rate>.