Problem statement: you went to the hairdresser to highlight your hair and noticed that the

hydrogen peroxide was kept in the refrigerator. Suggest a hypothesis for the storage of the
hydrogen peroxide and design an experiment to test your hypothesis.
Hypothesis: hydrogen peroxide decomposes less readily in cooler temperatures
Aim: to determine how temperature affects the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.
Apparatus:
1. Two samples of hydrogen peroxide
2. 0.02 M KMnO4
3. 1 M H2SO4
4. Measuring cylinders
5. Conical flask
6. Stopper
7. Gas syringe
8. Thermometer
Method:
1. Label the two samples of hydrogen peroxide as sample 1 and sample 2.
2. Place sample 1 in the refrigerator and sample 2 in an open room for 24 hours.
3. Record the temperature of sample 1 using a thermometer.
4. Measure 25cm3 of hydrogen peroxide from sample 1 using a measuring cylinder and
place it in a conical flask.
5. Add 10cm3 of H2SO4 to the conical flask.
6. Measure 50cm3 of KMnO4 in a measuring cylinder and add it to the conical flask.
7. Immediately after the KMnO4 is added, attach a stopper and gas syringe to the conical
flask.
8. Leave the reaction for five minutes.
9. Repeat steps 3-8 using sample 2 instead.
10. Tabulate all readings.
Variables:
Controlled: volume of hydrogen peroxide, volume of sulphuric acid, volume of potassium
permanganate, time for which the reaction is to be carried out for
Manipulating: the temperature of the samples of hydrogen peroxide
Responding: the volume of oxygen gas produced.
Results: Table 1: table showing the results to be obtained
Sample Temperature /oC Volume of O2(g)
produced/ cm3
1
2
Treatment of results:
1. Write the chemical equation for the decomposition hydrogen peroxide.
2. Calculate the rate of hydrogen peroxide decomposition for sample 1.
3. Calculate the rate of hydrogen peroxide decomposition for sample 2.
4. Which sample had a faster rate of decomposition? Justify your answer.
Discussion:
Hydrogen peroxide naturally decomposes to produce oxygen and water. The rate of
decomposition is affected by temperature of the hydrogen peroxide and hence the amount of
oxygen produced, which is an indication of the rate of decomposition, is expected to vary for the
different temperatures. It is expected that less oxygen will be produced by sample 1 when
compared with sample 2. Furthermore, the rate of decomposition is expected to be faster for
sample 2 than sample 1. If this occurs, the hypothesis is proven to be accurate.
For this experiment, it is assumed that the temperature of sample 1 which is to be placed in the
fridge will be lower (cooler) than sample 2 which is to be placed in an open room. It is also
assumed that all the oxygen gas produced from the decomposition will be transferred to the gas
syringe and that none will be lost to the environment. Precaution should be taken to ensure all
measurements are taken at eye level to avoid parallax error.