TEST Name:

10  The speed of a reaction

Core curriculum
1 True or false? Underline your choice.
A The rate of a reaction is a measure of how fast it goes. true / false
B A catalyst increases the yield in a reaction, but has no effect on the rate. true / false
C The rate of a reaction increases with time. true / false
D 10 g of large lumps of solid have a larger surface area than 10 g of
the powdered solid. true / false
E Enzymes speed up the reactions that take place in our bodies. true / false
F A stopclock or stopwatch is needed, for rate experiments. true / false
[6]

2 Which statement about reaction rates is not correct? Tick its box.

A To find the average rate of a reaction, you need to know how long it lasted.

B The average rate of a reaction is greater than the rate for the first minute.

C As the temperature of the reactants increases, so does the rate.

D Reactions can be so fast that they produce an explosion. [1]

3 Which statement about enzymes is not correct? Tick its box.

A Enzymes are made by living things.

B Enzymes speed up the reactions that take place in our bodies.

C Enzymes are natural proteins, which act as catalysts.

D The more you heat them, the better enzymes are, as catalysts. [1]

4 This apparatus can be used to measure the rate of a reaction.

20 40 60 80 100
cm3

ii

a Write in the two missing labels. [2]

b Complete this statement about the apparatus:

This apparatus can be used only if one of the is a [2]

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5 Hydrogen peroxide decomposes like this:

2H2O2 (aq)    2H2O (l )  1  O2 (  g)

Manganese(IV) oxide, a black solid, acts as a catalyst for the reaction. 1 g of manganese(IV)
oxide was added to 50 cm3 of a hydrogen peroxide solution at room temperature.
The oxygen was collected in a gas syringe and its volume measured at intervals.
The results are shown on this graph:

70

60

50
Volume / cm3

40

30

20

10

0
0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225
Time / s

a How long did the reaction last? [1]

b Describe how the rate of the reaction varied with time.

[2]

c At the end of the experiment, the reaction mixture was filtered to recover the black solid.
It was found to be manganese(IV) oxide and it had a mass of 1 gram. What does this
confirm, about catalysts?

[1]

d The experiment was repeated at a higher temperature. Sketch the curve for this second
experiment on the grid above. Label it X. [1]

e The rate of the reaction will increase as the mass of the catalyst increases. The experiment
was repeated at room temperature, but this time using 0.5 g of manganese(IV) oxide.
Sketch the curve for this third experiment on the grid above. Label it Y. [1]
f Catalase also acts as a catalyst for the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide.

Which type of substance is catalase? [1]

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Extended curriculum
6 The rate of reaction between 5 cm3 of hydrochloric acid and 50 cm3 of aqueous sodium thiosulfate
can be studied using this set-up:

eye

hydrochloric
acid added

sodium thiosulfate
solution
white paper with a black
cross marked on it

A precipitate forms. When it is thick enough, it hides the cross.

The rate of the reaction is directly proportional to the concentration of the sodium thiosulfate
solution. So if its concentration is doubled, the rate doubles too.
a Complete this table by predicting the time taken for the reaction when the concentration of
the sodium thiosulfate is changed. (All three reactions are at room temperature.)

concentration of thiosulfate / mol dm23 time taken / s

0.2 100
0.1
1
[2]

b Why does the concentration of the sodium thiosulfate solution affect the rate of the reaction?

[3]

c A student is asked to investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of the above reaction.
The student will repeat the experiment at different temperatures, but must keep everything
else unchanged.
List three variables that the student must keep unchanged:

ii

iii [3]

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 TEST Name:

d In investigating the effect of temperature, temperature / 0C time taken / s

the student obtained the results on the right.
20 100
Plot these results on the grid below, and join
30 69
the points to give a smooth line.
40 48
50 32
60 26

How reaction time varied with temperature,

for the sodium thiosulfate / acid reaction
120

100

80
Time taken / s

60

40

20

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Temperature / °C
[6]
e i At which temperature was the reaction fastest? Circle its point on the graph. [1]
ii Describe the trend the graph shows, for the change in reaction time with temperature.

[1]

iii Explain your observation in ii, using the idea of collisions.

[3]

f From your graph, deduce how long the reaction will take at 65 ºC. [1]

TOTAL MARK: / 39

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