Calculating Rates of Reactions (Oxford AQA IGCSE Combined Science Double Award)

Calculating Rates of Reactions

• Reactions take place at different rates depending on the chemicals involved and the conditions

  • Some are extremely slow e.g. rusting and others are extremely fast e.g. explosives

• The rate of reaction can be measured in two different ways:

  • How fast a reactant is used up

  • How fast a product is made

• Three methods are used to determine the rate of reaction are:

  • Mass loss - measuring the mass loss in the reactants over time

  • Gas collection - measuring the amount of a gas formed over time

  • Precipitation - measuring the formation of a precipitate over time

• Depending on the method used, the rate of reaction can be calculated using the appropriate equation:

Rate =    OR   

Rate =

Formula triangle for calculating the rate of reaction

Measurements for rate

• Time is always measured when determining the rate of a chemical reaction

  • Time is usually in seconds as many reactions studied in the lab are quite quick

• The amount of reactant used up or product formed is the other measurement 

  • Several of these measurements are made to ensure that there is sufficient data to establish a conclusion 

  • Measuring the amount of product forming is usually easier than measuring the amount of reactant being used up

• The calculation and units for rate depend on the reaction

  • If mass is being measured in grams, then the units for rate would be g/s

  • If volume is being measured in cm³ or dm³, then the units for volume would be cm³/s or dm³/s

Mass loss method

• When a gas is produced in a reaction it usually escapes from the reaction vessel, so the mass decreases

• For example, the reaction of calcium carbonate with hydrochloric acid producing carbon dioxide:

Calcium carbonate + hydrochloric acid → calcium chloride + water + carbon dioxide 

• The mass is measured every few seconds and the change in mass over time is recorded as the gas escapes

• The reaction is typically performed in a conical flask placed on top of a balance to measure the loss in mass 

  • Cotton wool can be placed in the neck of the flask to allow the gas to escape while stopping any materials from being ejected  

The set-up for measuring the reaction rate by mass loss

• However, one limitation of this method is the gas must be sufficiently dense

  • This is to make sure that the change in mass is not too small to measure on a 2 or 3 decimal place balance

  • For example, carbon dioxide would be suitable (M_r = 44) but hydrogen would not (M_r = 2)

Gas collection method

• When a gas is produced in a reaction, it can be trapped and its volume measured over time

  • This method can be used for any reaction that produces a gas

  • This is particularly useful when the gaseous product is hydrogen or another gas with a small relative formula mass, M_r

• For example, the reaction of magnesium with hydrochloric acid producing hydrogen:

Magnesium + hydrochloric acid → magnesium chloride + hydrogen  

• The volume of gas produced over time is recorded

• One gas collection set-up involves collecting a gas through water using an inverted measuring cylinder 

  • This technique is called the downward displacement of water

The set-up for measuring the reaction rate by gas collection

• Alternatively, the gas could be captured in a gas syringe which measures its volume

Alternative set-up for measuring the reaction rate by gas collection

Precipitation method

• Precipitation reactions form a solid precipitate when two clear solutions are mixed together

• The precipitate clouds the reaction mixture

  • So, if the flask is placed over a piece of paper with a cross on it, the time it takes for the cross to disappear from view can be measured

The disappearing cross experiment

• This is the reaction of sodium thiosulfate and hydrochloric acid:

Sodium thiosulfate + hydrochloric acid → sodium chloride + sulfur dioxide + water + sulfur

• The time taken for the cross to disappear is measured 

Equipment set-up for disappearing cross experiment

• This method is susceptible to error though as measurements are subjective

  • Different people may not agree on the exact moment that the cross disappears

• Another disadvantage is that only one data point is produced per experiment, so a rate of reaction graph cannot be plotted

• Alternatively, the formation of the precipitate over time can be measured using data-logging apparatus

• The amount of light that passes through the reaction mixture over time is recorded

Alternative set-up for measuring the reaction rate by precipitation