Investigation of Factors that Affect the Rate of Reaction Between Limestone

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Investigation of Factors that Affect the Rate of Reaction Between Limestone

PLANNING SECTION

Aim:

To investigate the factors that affect the rate of reaction between

limestone and hydrochloric acid.

Introduction:

Text Box: CaCO3 + HCl = CaCl2 + CO2 + H2O calcium carbonate + hydrochloric acid = calcium chloride + carbon dioxide + water

In this investigation I am trying to find out what influences the

reaction rate between limestone and hydrochloric acid. The reaction

is:

The factors that can be investigated are the concentration of the

hydrochloric acid, the temperature, and making the surface area of the

limestone bigger.

Limestone is formed from fossil remains of shells and is a sedimentary

rock, which contains almost 100% calcium carbonate (CaCO ). When it is

heated it decomposes and produces quicklime (CaO) and carbon dioxide.

It is an ingredient used in cement and glass and has appropriate

physical properties to be used as an aggregate. This is used where a

solid foundation is needed such as under concrete floors, roads and

railway tracks. Limestone can also be used to produce a cheap alkali

that neutralises acids in lakes and soil.

For my preliminary experiment I used 3g of 3mm limestone chips, 50ml

of hydrochloric acid and 500cm3 of distilled water. I tested three

different molarities of hydrochloric acid and timed how long the

reaction between the acid and limestone took to produce 50 cm3 of

carbon dioxide.

I am going to change the concentration of the hydrochloric acid, and

after that I will change the surface area of the limestone. This will

give me two sets of results. For the experiment using different

molarities of acid, I will use 3g of 3mm limestone chips throughout

the whole thing. For the experiment using different surface areas of

limestone chips, I will use 3g all the time and use 2 moles of acid.

Prediction:

I predict that when changing the concentration of the acid, the

reaction will go faster. This is because the more concentrated the

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