Chemical kinetics discovered by Augustus George Vernon Harcourt is defined as the study of

chemical reactions in terms of their reaction rates and various factors that affect them. The rate
of reaction is the measure of how quickly a reactant is used up or a product is formed or in other
words the speed at which a chemical reaction proceeds. Many conditions can alter or affect the
rate at which a reaction occurs for example temperature, concentration, pressure, surface area,
and the use of a catalyst. For instance, by increasing the temperature of the reaction the kinetic
energy of the particles also increases and so a greater proportion of colliding particles will have
sufficient energy to overcome the activation energy and react. The collision theory is used to
predict the rates of chemical reactions, particularly for gases, and is based on the assumption that
for a reaction to occur the atoms or molecules must collide or come together. Not all collisions
however bring about this chemical change because the atoms must possess a certain minimum
value of internal energy to break bonds. The activation energy is the barrier in which a reaction
can take place and so only those collisions which have energies equal to or greater than the
activation energy can result in a reaction. In the reaction magnesium metal, sulphuric acid and
water was used. The water was used to dilute the sulphuric acid from test tube to test tube. In test
tube one with pure water, no reaction was seen. In test tube 2 with a mixture of water of 15 ml
and sulphuric acid with 5 ml, a little reaction was seen. Small amounts of hydrogen bubbles were
seen along the test tube and some rose to the top. In test tube 3, with 10 ml water and 10 ml
sulphuric acid, the hydrogen bubbles appeared quicker and rose to the top faster than the ones in
test tube 2. In test tube 4 which comprised of 15 ml sulphuric acid and 5 ml water the rate of
reaction seemed to had sped up the reaction causing a hiss upon the release of hydrogen gas.
Finally in the fifth test tube that had 20 ml of sulphuric acid, it was seen that reaction between
the magnesium metal and the acid occurred right away as soon as the metal had been dropped
into the acid. It finished the major reaction within two minutes and forty five seconds. The fifth
test tube had finished reacting first and thus proved the hypothesis of the most concentrated
solution would react faster.