Name: ___________________________

Rate of Chemical Reactions: The

Iodination of Acetone.
LABORATORY ACTIVITY NO.8

Introduction

Experiments show that rates of homogeneous chemical reactions in solution

depend upon:

1- The nature of the reactants

2- The concentration of the reactants
3- The temperature
4- The presence of catalysts

Before a reaction can occur, the reactants must come into direct contact via
collisions of the reacting particles. However, even then, the reacting particles
(ions or molecules) must collide with sufficient energy to result in a reaction.
With these considerations in mind, we can qualitatively explain how the various
factors influence the rates of reactions.

For a given reaction, the rate typically increases with an increase in the
concentration of any reactant. The relation between rate and concentration is a
simple one in many cases, and for the reaction

aA + bB → Products

the rate can usually be expressed by the equation:

Rate = k [A]m [B]n [1]

Where m and n are usually, but not always, integers, 0, 1, 2 or possibly 3; [A] and
[B] are the concentration of A and B (ordinarily in mol/L); and k is a constant,
called the rate constant of the reaction. The numbers m and n are called the
orders of the reaction with respect to A and B, respectively. If m is 1 the reaction
is said to be first order with respect to reactant A. If n is 2 the reaction is second
order with respect to reactant B. The overall order is the sum of m and n. In this
example the reaction would be third order overall. Equation [1] is called the rate
law for the reaction.

The rate of a reaction is also significantly dependent on the temperature at which

the reaction occurs. An increase in temperature increases the rate, an often-cited
approximate rule being that a 10oC rise in temperature will double the rate.

As with the concentration, there is a quantitative relation between reaction

rate and temperature. This relation is based on the idea that to react, the
reactant species must have a certain minimum amount of energy present at the
time the reactants collide in the reaction step; this amount of energy, which is
typically furnished by the kinetic energy of motion of the species present, is
called the activation energy for the reaction. The equation relating the rate
constant k to the absolute temperature T and the activation energy Ea can be
written as:

Ea
ln k = ln A – RT [2]

Where R is the gas constant (8.314 J/mol.K) and A is a constant, or nearly so, as
temperature is varied. The constant A is called the frequency factor and is related
to the frequency of collisions and the probability that the molecules are suitably
oriented for reaction. By measuring k at different temperatures, we can
determine graphically the activation energy for a reaction.
Catalysts, in some cases, are believed to increase reaction rates by bringing
particles into close juxtaposition in the correct geometrical arrangement for
reaction to occur. In other instances, catalysts offer an alternative route to the
reaction, one that requires less energetic collisions between reactant particles. At
the end of the reaction, the catalyst can be recovered chemically unchanged.

Objectives:

1. To measure the effect of concentration upon the rate of the reaction of

iodine with acetone;
2. to determine the order of the reaction with respect to reactant
concentrations;
3. to obtain the rate law for the chemical reaction; and to calculate the
activation energy for the reaction.

Materials:

Teat tubes, graduated cylinder, acetone, iodine solution, HCl, stop watch,
Erlenmeyer flask, thermometer,

Procedure:

1- Select two regular test tubes; when filled with distilled water, they should
appear to have identical color when you view them down the tubes
against a white background.
2- Starting with Mixture 1 in the report sheet, measure out, with a graduated
cylinder, 10.0 mL of the 4.0 M acetone solution and pour it into a clean
125 mL Erlenmeyer flask. Then measure out 10.0 mL of 1.0 M HCl and add
that to the acetone in the flask. Add 20.0 mL distilled water to the flask.
Drain the graduated cylinder, shaking out any excess water, and then use
the cylinder to measure out 10.0 mL of 0.0050 M I2 solution. Be careful not
to spell the iodine solution on your hands or clothes.
3- Noting the time on your stopwatch to 1 second, pour the iodine solution
into the Erlenmeyer flask and quickly swirl the flask to mix the reagents
thoroughly. The reaction mixture will appear yellow because of the
presence of the iodine, and the color will fade slowly as the iodine reacts
with the acetone.
 4- Fill one of the test tubes ¾ full with the reaction mixture, and fill the other
test tube to the same depth with distilled water. Look down the test tubes
toward a well-lit piece of white paper, and note the time the color of the
iodine just disappears. Measure the temperature of the mixture in the test
tubes. Record the time and the temperature in your report sheet.
5- Repeat the experiment, using as a reference the reacted solution instead
of distilled water. The amount of time required in the two runs should
agree within 20 seconds.
6- Repeat steps 2-5 for other mixtures listed in your report sheet, making
sure the temperate is kept within about a degree of that in the initial run.
7- Calculate the rate of the reaction by dividing the initial concentration of I 2
in the reaction mixture by the elapsed time. Since the reaction is zero
order in I2, and since both acetone and H+ ion are present in great excess,
the rate is constant throughout the reaction and the concentration of both
acetone and H+ remain essentially at their initial values in the reaction
mixtures.
8- Determine the value of m and n by calculating the order of reaction with
respect to acetone and H+, respectively, and show that the order of the
reaction with respect to I2 is zero (that is, p = 0). Determine the overall
order of reaction.
9- Having found the order of the reaction for each species on which the rate
depends, evaluate k, the rate constant of the reaction, from the rate and
concentration data in each of the mixtures you studied. If the
temperatures at which the reactions were run are all equal to within a
degree or two, k should be about the same for each mixture. Calculate the
average k.
10-Select one of the reaction mixtures you have already used which gave a
convenient time, and use that mixture to measure the rate of reaction at
about 0oC and at about 40oC. From the two rates you found, plus the rate
at room temperature, calculate the energy of activation for the reaction,
using Equation [2].

REPORT SHEET
I- Reaction Rate Data
Volume / mL Time
st Temp.
Mixture 4.0 M 1.0 M 0.0050 1 2
nd
Average / oC
H2O
acetone HCl M I2 run time / s
run
 1 10 10 10 20

2 20 10 10 10

3 10 20 10 10

4 10 10 5 25

Mixtur Rate = [I2]o / ave. time

[acetone] [H+] [I2]o
e (mol/L.s)

1 0.80 M 0.20 M 0.0010 M

II- Reaction Orders (show your work)

1) with respect to acetone:

m = _________ ≈ _______

2) with respect to H+:

n = _________ ≈ _______

3) with respect to I2:

p = _________ ≈ _______

Overall order of reaction: ________

III- Rate Constant

Mixture 1 2 3 4 Average
 k
units

Show calculation for k for an exemplary mixture

IV- Activation Energy

Reaction mixture used _______

Rate /
Aver. time
Temp. / C o
k ln k 1 / T(K)
/s
(mole/L.s)

room temp. (a) (b) (c) (d)

(a), (b) & (c): from part I

(d): average k from part III

Slope of plot of ln k vs. 1/T =

units

Ea =

units

Conclusions:
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Applications: