The rate of a chemical reaction indicates how fast a reaction occurs and is important to understand how

the concentration of the reactant(s) or product(s) change over time. Chemical equations are used to see
the overall chemical change. A rate law gives the relationship between the rate and the concentration of
the reactant, and can only be determined experimentally. The general form of a rate law is: rate =
k[A]
m
[B]
n
. k is the rate constant that depends on the temperature and reaction order. The superscripts,
m and n, are added together to give the reaction order, which determines how the rate depends on the
concentration of the reactant.


The freezing point of a substance can be lowered by the addition of a solute. When a solute is
added to a solvent, the freezing point of the solvent is lowered according to the number of moles
of of solute added. As characteristic such as this is known as a colligative property. A colligative
property is a property that only applies to solutions, and depends only on the ratio of the number
of particles of solvent and solute in solution, not the identity of the solute (3). Freezing point
depression, the lowering of the freezing point due to the addition of a solute, is an example of a
colligative property.
This lab tests the freezing point depression of lauric acid when benzoic acid is added as a solute,
and allows the molecular weight of benzoic acid. Part A of the procedure freezes pure lauric acid
while part B freezes a solution of benzoic acid and lauric acid in order to compare the freezing
points of both trials. The freezing point of the benzoic acid and lauric acid solution will reveal the
freezing point depression of the solution when compared to the freezing point of pure lauric acid.
Using the freezing point depression, the molecular weight can be determined. This practice is
applicable for experiments in many subdisciplines of chemistry, and is often used as a research
technique.