Measuring the effect of concentration on a reaction rate

Nomhwange Rachael

Introduction;
Investigating the effect of the concentration of sodium thiosulfate solution on the rate of reaction

Background information;
Changing the concentration of a solute in solution alters the number of particles per unit volume.
The more particles present in a given volume, the greater the probability of them colliding.
Hence, increasing the concentration of a solute in solution increases the number of collisions
per unit time and therefore, increases the rate of reaction.

Analysis;

Results

Volume of sodium Volume of Original Concentration of Reaction 1/Time(s-1)

thiosulfate water(cm3) sodium thiosulfate time(s)
solution(cm3) solution(gdm-3)

50 0 50 12.6 0.0794

40 10 40 22.8 0.0438

30 20 30 32.3 0.0310
 20 30 20 43.4 0.0230

10 40 10 115.4 0.0967

Calculate the concentration of the sodium thiosulphate solution after dilution and
value of time-1 .
i) MiVi=MfVf
50×50 =Mf×50
Mf =50 moles

Calculating the time inverse(Reaction rate)

i)rate=1/time
=1/12.6
=0.0794s-1

The sodium thiosulfate and hydrochloric acid solutions were colourless. However, once the
hydrochloric acid was added to the sodium thiosulfate in the conical flask, the solution gradually
changed from colourless into a cloudy cream colour. Eventually, the X mark slowly disappeared
as time went on due to the cloudiness of the solution.The precipitate of sulphur formed gradually
and made the solution cloudy. The formation of cloudy masks marks a cross on paper.
The rate of reaction can be measured by timing how long it takes for the solution to become
cloudy and the precipitation of sulphur. In other words the time taken for a certain quantity of
sulphur to form and cause the ‘X’ mark to disappear is used to determine the rate of reaction.
The rate of this reaction is directly proportional with the inverse of the time taken for a formation
of precipitation of sulphur.
Evaluation;
Conclusion
The rate of reaction between sodium thiosulfate and dilute hydrochloric acid can be
measured by the time it takes for the sulfur precipitate to be formed, as shown in the
equation below:
2HCl(aq) + Na2S2O3(aq) → 2NaCl(aq) + SO2(aq) + S(s) + H2O(l)
Hydrochloric Acid + Sodium Thiosulfate →Sodium Chloride + Sulfur Dioxide + Sulfur + Water

Based on experimental data, the higher the concentration of the solution is, the faster the
sodium carbonate dissolve, chemical reaction rate increases; the lower the concentration of the
solution is, the slower the sodium carbonate dissolves, chemical reaction rate decreases.With
an increase in the concentration of any reacting substance, the chances for collisions between
molecules are increased because there are more molecules per unit of volume. More collisions
mean a faster reaction rate per unit time, assuming the energy of the collisions is
adequate.Concentration affects the rate of chemical reaction; the higher the concentration of the
reactant is, the higher the rate of chemical reaction will be; the lower the concentration of the
reactant is, the lower the rate of chemical reaction will be.
The graph shows that the concentration of Sodium thiosulfate solution(Na2S2O3) is inversely
proportional with time because as concentration increases rate decreases and directly
proportional to the rate of reaction because as the concentration increases rate increases also.