• To investigate the effects of on the rate of reaction of magnesium with different concentrations of Hydrochloric acid (HCl).
• To investigate the effects of different surface areas of magnesium in its rate of reaction with hydrochloric acid (HCl).
Introduction:
The rate in which reactions occur between chemicals, such as Magnesium and Hydrochloric Acid, are effected by four main factors. These factors are temperature, concentration, the presence of a catalyst and the surface area of the reactants. These factors influence the rates of reaction by manipulating the frequency of successful collisions that occur between reactants. Successful collisions occur when reacting particles collide with enough force to separate or produce new bonds. …show more content…
5) Steps 1 to 4 were repeated once more with 50 ml of HCl to form 100ml of 0.5M HCl.
6) A magnesium strip was sanded down until its surface was shiny and smooth, then weighed and cut into 3 equal massed 0.04g pieces.
7) A delivery system apparatus was set up. A basin was half-filled with water, then a measuring cylinder filled with water was placed upside down into the basin to ensure air did not enter it.
8) The long end of a delivery tube was placed into the mouth of the measuring cylinder.
9) The short end of the delivery tube, with the rubber bung, was used to cork the HCl filled conical flask.
10) Once the 0.04g magnesium strip was dropped into the conical flask and the reaction had begun, the stopwatch was started synonymously.
11) Once the reaction had ended, the stopwatch was stopped.
12) Steps 10 and 11 were repeated with 0.5M of HCl and then 1M of HCl.
13) The results were then recorded. Procedure B (Surface Area):
1) 10 ml of HCl was put into a 100 ml volumetric flask with a small amount of water.
2) The volumetric flask was inverted several times to ensure that the mixture became homogeneous.
3) The volumetric flask was then filled to the 100 ml mark to produce a 0.1M HCl …show more content…
With the progression of each trial, bubbles were generated on the magnesium strip as a result of the reaction between the reactants. This not only caused the magnesium strip to float to the top of the acid but also formed a block between the magnesium and hydrochloric acid. These occurrences very possibly caused a slower than expected reaction between the metal and acid.
2. It is highly probable that, from the time the magnesium strip was sanded down to the time it was dropped into the HCl, the magnesium strip could have formed a thin layer of oxidized magnesium. This is due to the fact that magnesium, being a Group 2A metal, is highly reactive to oxygen. As sanding down the magnesium surface “increases reactivity by decreasing the time required for initiation of reactive sites” (Teerlinck and Bowyer, 1996), the forming of oxidized impurities would increase the time of initiation of reactive sites on the