The Effect of Surface Area on the Rate of Reaction Between Catalase from a Potato and Hydrogen Peroxide

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The Effect of Surface Area on the Rate of Reaction Between Catalase from a Potato and Hydrogen Peroxide

Aim

To find out the relationship between the surface area of a potato chip

and the rate of reaction when hydrogen peroxide is put in with it.

Variables

As I do this experiment the thing I am going to be changing is the

surface area of the potato chip, first I will put it in the beaker as

a whole (3cm chip) then I will start cutting it into smaller pieces

and repeating the experiment. I will keep the temperature the same

throughout all the experiments also I will keep the amount and

concentration of hydrogen peroxide the same, the amount of potato and

the same brand of potato. By doing this I will make it a fair test.

Prediction

I predict that the bigger the surface area the quicker the 10 cubic cm

of hydrogen peroxide gas will be produced. I think this because as the

surface area increases, the speed of the reaction will increase

therefore the gas will be produced faster. I believe this because most

chemical reactions happen faster when there is more of the reactant to

react with. When there is a larger surface area, there is more of the

reactant available, which makes it easier for them to react together.

Usually, when the surface area is doubled it will double the rate of

reaction.

Chemical reactions take place by chance. Particles need to collide

with enough velocity so that they react and interlock with each other,

this is called the lock and key theory. As the surface area is

increased the particles have a bigger surface to react with so more

molecules can react at a time. This means that they are colliding more

often and there is a bigger chance that the collisions have enough

velocity to cause a reaction. Since there are more collisions the

chemical reaction takes place faster.

What am I measuring?

I am measuring how long it takes to collect 10 cubic cm of gas in a

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