Investigating Rates of Reactions

Investigating Rates of Reactions

My aim is to investigate what factors affect the rate of reaction

between magnesium and hydrochloric acid. The factor that I will be

focusing on is the concentration of Hydrochloric acid.

[IMAGE]Reaction Equation: Mg (s) +2HCl (aq) = MgCl2 (aq) +H2 (g)

Magnesium + Hydrochloric Acid = Magnesium Chloride + Hydrogen

There are several different variables you can such as temperature,

concentration; surface area and whether or not to use a catalyst or

not these all affect the rate of reaction.

*The effect of temperature on the rate of reaction is that, if the

temperature is increased then the particles will move faster. This

leads to more collisions. In addition, particles have more kinetic

energy, so more collisions will lead to a reaction.

*The effect of the surface area on the rate of reaction is, when one

of the reactants is a solid, the reaction must take place on the

surface of the solid. By breaking the solid into smaller pieces, the

surface area is increased, giving a greater area for collisions to

take place and so causing an increase in the rate of reaction.

*The effect of using a catalyst on the rate of reaction is that it

will speed up the rate of reaction. Using a catalyst lowers the

activation energy for the reaction. More collisions have sufficient

energy for reactions to take place. A catalyst that slows down a rate

of reaction is called an inhibitor.

*The effect of concentration on the rate of reaction is that, if the

concentration is increased, there are more particles within a given

volume, therefore more collisions occur and the reaction is faster.

The rate of reaction can also be defined, by using the collision

theory. A collision theory explains how chemical reactions take place

and why rates of reaction alter. For a reaction to occur the reactant,

particles must collide.

I am going to investigate how the concentration of hydrochloric acid

alters the rate of reaction. As I increase the amount of water, I