Investigation into the Reaction Between Marble Chips and Hydrochloric Acid

918 Words2 Pages

Investigation into the Reaction Between Marble Chips and Hydrochloric Acid

Planning

========

Introduction

------------

In the reaction between marble and hydrochloric acid, calcium

carbonate particles from the marble react with the hydrogen chloride

particles in the hydrochloric acid producing calcium chloride, water

and carbon dioxide. The formula for this reaction is:

CaCO3 (s) + 2HCl (aq) ® CaCl2 (s) +H2O (l) + CO2 (g)

Choosing the variable

---------------------

To investigate this reaction, first a variable must be chosen for the

investigation. In order for the calcium carbonate and hydrochloric

acid particles to react together they must collide with each other and

the collision must have enough energy. So, to select a variable for

the investigation, a variable must be chosen that either affects the

number of collisions between the calcium carbonate and hydrochloric

acid particles or affects the energy of the collision. Some variables

that could affect the rate of the reaction are:

· The concentration of hydrochloric acid used in the reaction.

The higher the concentration of acid, the more particles of acid there

are in the solution. Therefore it is more likely for a successful

collision between an acid particle and a calcium carbonate particle to

occur.

· The temperature of the environment that the experiment takes place

in.

When reacting substances are heated, the particles have more energy.

This means that they move faster which in turn means that they collide

more often and with more energy.

· The surface area of calcium carbonate used in the experiment.

Hydrochloric acid particles can collide only with calcium carbonate

particles on the surface of the marble chip. Therefore, if the marble

chip is crushed into a powder, there will be a larger surface area and

therefore more collisions.

I have chosen the concentration of hydrochloric acid as the variable

that I will use for the investigation. The other factors will have to

be kept constant in order for the experiment to be a fair test.

Open Document