Experiment Number: 01

Name of The Experiment:

DETERMINATION OF THE SPECIFIC RATE

CONSTANT OF A REACTION.

Date of Performance:29.03.16
Temperature:30 °C

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Objective:
This experiment is based on kinetics of chemical change . Here we learn

 how to determine the specific rate constant,

 get acquainted with Polari meter and
 learn a new form of graph- GugenHeium-by which we can determine the rate
constant without reaching the end position of the reaction.

The study of rate of reaction is of both theoretical and industrial importance. In any industry
various kinds of reaction are taking place at a time .There it is desirable to know how fast and
under what conditions maximum yield of product can be obtained. The study of rate of
reaction allows us to understand the mechanism or sequence of steps by which a reaction
occurs. The rate of reaction is one of the most important topic for a chemical engineer because
the profit largely depends on the rate of the reaction. We can be benefitted largely by
increasing reaction rate.

The rate of reaction can be determined by some property of substances. Here , in this
experiment we used the optical property to determine the specific rate constant. In analytical
chemistry, we can separate & identify the ‘Optically active’ substance. We can also get an idea
about the molecular structure of the reactants by knowing their ‘optical activity’ and ‘Optical
activity characteristics’.

Theory:
The rate of reaction is an experimentally determined quantity which is often found to be
proportional to the concentrations of the reactants raised to a power. For a chemical reaction
where substance A and B are reacting to produce C, the reaction rate has the form:

Let us assume, the rate of a reaction may be found to be proportional to the molar concentration
of a reactant A. So, the rate of the reaction R can be found from,
R = k [A]
Here k is the rate constant and is the order

Rate constant determined when the concentration of each reactant is unity i.e. one mole/dm3
then it is called specific rate constant .In other words, Specific rate constant at a given

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temperature may be defined as the rate of reaction when the molar concentration of each
reactant is unity.

Optically active substances may be defined as the the substances which turns the plane of
polarized light to left or right .Those substances which rotate the plane of polarized light to
right are called dextrorotatory, those which rotate the plane of polarized light to left are called
laevorotatory. Isomers whose physical properties are identical in every way but that are
optically different are said to exhibit optical isomerism. Optical isomerism occurs if the
molecule is dissymmetric in such a way that it is not identical with its mirror image. This
condition is usually fulfilled by the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom.

Sucrose is a dextrorotatory substance, is hydrolyzed in the presence of an acid catalyst

according to the reaction:

H+

C12H22O11 + H2O C6H1206 + C6H1206 + H+

Sucrose glucose fructose

The above reaction is a pseudo-order reaction. This reaction can be followed by measuring the
optical rotation with a polarimeter , for the sucrose rotates the plane of polarization of light to
the right.

The resulting mixture of glucose and fructose is levorotatory, because the levorotatory fructose
is slightly more active than the dextrorotatory glucose.
If Li and Lf are the angles of rotation at beginning and when the reaction is completed
respectively, and Lt is the rotation after time t, then total quantity of sugar originally present in
the solution is proportional to the total change in rotation is (L i – Lf), and the sugar remaining at
any time t ,becomes proportional to (Lt – Lf).

In addition to the solvent molecule, a catalyst present in solution is also concerned in the
reaction; hence it is probable that the rate of the process depends on the concentrations of
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sugar, water and H+ ions, but the concentration of water remains virtually constant and so also
does that of the H+ ions, since they are not used up in the process, and so it follows that the
reaction rate is proportional to the sucrose concentration only. Consequently the inversion is
kinetically of the pseudo first order. Hence, specific rate constant may be determined by using
the following integrated form of the first order rate equation:

ln [Sucrose]t = -kt + ln [Sucrose]o

ln (Lt – Lf) = -kt + constant

Polarimeter in our Lab:

A polarizer is a device that converts an unpolarized or mixed-polarization beam of

electromagnetic waves (e.g., light) into a beam with a single polarization state (usually, a single
linear polarization) using the optical property of the substance. Polarizer are used in many
optical techniques and instruments, and polarizing filters find applications in photography and
liquid crystal display technology

CHEMICALS AND APARATUS :

 Polarimeter
 Beaker
 Pipette
 Stop watch
 Volumetric flask
 Sucrose solution
 5 N HCl
 Distilled water

Data collection:

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 No. Of
Observatio ln(Lt-
n Time(min) Lt Lf Lt-Lf Lf)
2.35612
1 0 8.3 -2.25 10.55 6
2.32727
2 4.05 7 -2.25 10.25 8
2.22462
3 6.53 6 -2.25 9.25 4
2.11021
4 8.4 5 -2.25 8.25 3
1.98100
5 10.22 4.15 -2.25 7.25 1
1.85629
6 13.07 2.9 -2.25 6.4 8
1.63899
7 15.42 1.85 -2.25 5.15 7
1.41098
8 17.53 1.15 -2.25 4.1 7
1.22377
9 19.46 0.55 -2.25 3.4 5
1.02961
10 24.27 -0.5 -2.25 2.8 9
0.55961
11 27.1 -0.9 -2.25 1.75 6
0.30010
12 30.13 -1.35 -2.25 1.35 5
-
13 47.31 -2.05 -2.25 0.9 0.10536
14 53.38 -2.25 -2.25 0
15 58 -2.25 -2.25 0
16 65.5 -2.25 -2.25 0

Calculation

From the graph, slope = .0816min-1

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Hence, the specific rate constant of the reaction, k =.081min-1
From the GUGEN-HEIUM plot, slope =.078min-1
Hence, the specific rate constant of the reaction from the GUGEN-HEIUM plot,
k =0 .078s-1

Result:
The specific rate Constant k= .081 min-1

From gugen heium k= .078 min-1

Discussion :
 Though in the procedure it was said to keep the solution in the tube overnight and to take
the last reading next day which would give Lf, it was not possible to do so. The last
reading was taken after two hours the reaction started.
 At the last period of taking reading some readings had been missed due to misjudgment
of the brightness of two sides of the analyzer. At certain moment we thought brightness
was equal for long time and it was the final reading, but actually it was not perfectly
equal. Due to those missing points the ‘Time vs. Lt’ and ‘Time vs. Lt – Lf’ graphs seem a
bit imperfect.
 As instructed in the procedures to fill the tube as quickly as possible with the solution it
was not possible to do so quickly to be careful.

 The hydrolysis of sucrose is a pseudo first order reaction because the concentration of
H2O remains constant during the hydrolysis compared to the concentration of sucrose.
So, the reaction rate depends only on the concentration of sucrose and the reaction
behaves as a first order reaction

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