What effect does container volume have on Rate of Reaction?

William Shields
Beaumaris Secondary College
Eye of the Atom 2021

Introduction
The reaction being investigated is the Vinegar and
Bicarbonate Soda reaction, specifically the affect of
different sized containers on the rate of reaction.
The importance of this is reaction is that the results of this
experiment could be applied to other reactions, which
could help scientists save time in the lab.
My hypothesis is that a smaller container will speed up the
reaction, as the reactants are forced to interact
Methodology
1. Set out all containers in a straight row
2. Measure out an equal portion (10g per container) of Bicarb Soda
into each container
3. Start the stopwatch, then pour 10 mls of vinegar into a container
4. Wait for that reaction to stop, the note down the time on a
stopwatch
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all containers have had a reaction in
them
Discussion
Cut and paste from Word document/logbook
• The decreasing Rate of Reaction was inconsistent; the
ROR only decreases in equal steps twice. Additionally,
the experiment has diminishing returns, with a 4cm
increase in container diameter reducing ROR by 15
seconds, but a later 30 cm increase only reduces ROR
by 10 seconds
There were no significant outliers,
• This experiment was limited by a lack of containers of
Results non-multiple of 5 diameter. Additionally, If this
experiment were to be repeated,, using different
Diameter of Container (cm) Duration (seconds)
reactants (Berocca and water, brewing coffee) could be
1 75 a good way to further measure the effect of diameter
5 60
10 40
20 30 Conclusion
50 20 In conclusion, the experiment found that a larger dish will
increase the Rate of Reaction, likely due to the reactants
having more space to mix. This goes against the
hypothesis (Which was that a smaller diameter would
increase Rate of Reaction).

There are no major risks in this process, however it’s best to

take the ‘standard’ safety procedures (Wearing of PPE and
caution around glass)

Acknowledgements: