Half -life is the time it takes for half of the unstable nuclei in a sample to decay or for the

activity of the sample to halve or for the count rate to halve.

Homo=same
Hetero= different

A homogenous catalyst is a catalyst is a catalyst that exists in the same phase as the
reactants during a chemical reaction.
Generally easy to separate from the reaction mixture

A heterogenous catalyst is a catalyst that exists in a different phase often in a different

physical state, from the reactant during a chemical reaction often more challenging to
separate from the products.

Calculating half-life:
Measure the initial activity of sample
Determine the half-life of this original activity
Measure how the activity changes with time.

Colorimetry to determine the rate of reaction.

In a solution the concentration of both reactants and products change. So, with this set up,
we can say that as the concentration changes the detection of the monochromatic lioght
will change as well, determining the change in concentration of the solution.
Ifa solution changes color durong a reacton this can be used to measure the rate.
The intemsity of light reaching the detector is measured every few seconds and data is
plotted to show how the concentrations of the recatants or products changes with time.

The light intensity is related to the concentration so the graph represents a graoh of
concentration of products or reactnbat against time.

Colorimetry cant be used to monitor the formaton fo colored precipitates as the light will be
scattered or blocked byt the precipitate.
When a gas is producrednin a reaction it usually excapes, and mass decreases,
- This can be uised to measure the rate of reaction
- CaCO with HCL produced co2
- This mass is measured every few seconds and change in mass over time is plotted as
the CXO2 espcapes.

- The mass loss provides a measure of the amount of reactant so the graoh is the
same as a grph of amount of reactant against time

- When a gas is produced in a recatio it can be trapped and its volume mesure over
time

- This cabn
be iused to
measure
the rate of
recation

- For eg the
reaction of
MG with
HCL
produces
hydrogen
- An alternative gas collection set up involves collecting gas throughwater using an
inverted measuring gas cylinder ( as long as the gas is not water soluble)

- The colume can be measure every few second and plotted to show how the colume
of gas varies with time

- The vppume provides a measure pf amount of product so the graph is graph of

amount of product against time.