Keenan Enrilsen Lab 39: Reactant concentration and rate of reaction 26/5/21

Aim: To investigate the rate of reaction as a function of sodium thiosulfate concentration.

Equipment and procedure: See page 91 STAWA Lab book

Results:

Vol. of 0.5 Vol. of H2O Total volume Concentration Time for 1/Time(s-1)
mol L-1 added (mL) after adding of Na2S2O3 on cross to
Na2S2O3 (mL) and mixing 5 mixing (mol L-1) disappear
mL HCl

45 0 50 0.225 11.50 sec 1/11.50=

0.087
35 10 50 0.175 19.78 sec 1/19.78=
0.051
25 20 50 0.125 22.03 sec 1/22.03=
0.045
15 30 50 0.075 50.34 sec 1/50.34=
0.020
5 40 50 0.025 3 min 3 sec 1//183= 0.005

Processing of results and questions:

1. Calculate: 1/time for each experiment and enter the results into the table.
2. Plot a graph of 1/time (a measure of the reaction rate) against sodium thiosulfate
concentration.
3. What effect does the concentration of sodium thiosulfate have on the reaction rate?
Increasing concentration increases reaction rate.
4. If the concentration of sodium thiosulfate is doubled, what happens to the rate of reaction?
Rate of reaction is doubled.
5. Identify two random errors in this experiment. How could these errors be minimised?
Two different people looking at whether the cross was visible or not, as people can have
different perceptions on the visibility, resulting in different timings. This can be minimised by
having the same person looking at the cross each time. Another error was the meniscus of
water and the HCl acid not being exactly at the desired volume resulting in slightly more
liquid in some reactions which may affect the reaction rate. This can be minimised by looking
at the measuring cylinder from an eye level position to ensure that the measured volume is
correct.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, we were able to successfully conduct the experiment and determine the rate of
reaction as a function of sodium thiosulfate. We observed from our results that as the concentration
of sodium thiosulfate used increased, the rate of reaction also increased.

Evaluation:

My group worked well and safely together to ensure that we were able finish the experiment in
time. We knew the preliminary precautions to take when working with potentially dangerous
substances. Possible sources of error include having a different person to judge whether or not the
Keenan Enrilsen Lab 39: Reactant concentration and rate of reaction 26/5/21

cross was still visible each time, and possibly inaccurate measuring of volumes of liquids in
measuring cylinders.