How Temperature Affects the Rate of Reaction in the Reaction of Magnesium and Hydrochloric Acid

How Temperature Affects the Rate of Reaction in the Reaction of Magnesium and Hydrochloric Acid

Aim

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I am trying to find out what affect heat has on the reaction between

hydrochloric acid and magnesium.

Introduction

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There are a number of things that affect rates of reaction, such as

temperature, concentration of acid, catalysts, agitation, surface

area, and pressure in experiments. I have chosen to investigate

temperature, which will be the only variable that I will change. I'll

control the temperature by the heating the acid on a hot plate, and

constantly monitoring it with a thermometer. As soon as the acid

reaches the correct temperature a 5cm strip of magnesium shall be

placed in the acid and the bung put in the top of the tube.

Simultaneously, a clock will be started to time how quickly the glass

syringe fills. I will measure the amount of gas produced in equal time

intervals such as 10, 20, 30 etc.

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Scientific Explanation

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[IMAGE]For a chemical reaction to occur, reactant particles must

collide. Successful collisions are when two particles hit head on.

These are the ways in which a reaction can be sped up.

* Increasing the temperature of a reaction increases the rate of a

reaction. At the higher temperatures reactant particles move

faster and collide more often and more violently.

* Increasing the concentration of reactants increases the rate of a

reaction. This is because there are more particles in the same

volume so more collisions are possible every second.

* Breaking up solids into smaller pieces increases reaction rate

because this increases the total surface area. Increasing the

surface area must increase the number of particles of the solid in

contact with the other reactant in solution.

* Using a catalyst increases the rate of a reaction.