Internal Assessment Investigating the relationship between concentration of reactants and

rate of reaction using hydrochloric acid and magnesium strip

Research Question
To study the effect of manipulating the concentration of hydrochloric acid on the rate of hydrogen gas
production during the reaction with magnesium, using the time taken for the reaction to complete (the
fizz to disappear)
Introduction
The rate at which a reaction occurs is governed by a variety of factors. These include the concentration
of the reactant (or pressure when in gaseous form), the temperature at which the reaction occurs, the
surface area of the solid reactants and the presence, or lack of presence, of a catalyst. If any one of
these conditions is altered, the rate at which a reaction occurs will be altered. In this experiment the
reaction between hydrochloric acid solution and magnesium ribbon is used to investigate the effect of
reactant concentration on the rate of reaction. The concentration of hydrochloric acid is manipulated
using serial dilution. (adding water to 2 molar HCl in 50 ml solutions)
In order for a reaction to occur, there must be a collision between two particles. The rate of reaction is
the rate at which these collisions occur. The concentration is an expression of the amount of particles of
one substance present. If the concentration of one reactant is increased (and the volume is kept
constant) there will be more particles, and hence more collisions between particles. The rate of reaction
will then increase. This can be observed through the rate of evolution of the products of the reaction i.e.
the time taken for the reaction to complete.
Aim
The aim of this experiment is to investigate the affect of a change in concentration on the rate of
reaction. This experiment will be a reaction between a constant amount of magnesium and a constant
volume of hydrochloric acid, which will occur in the following equation:

The independent variable will be the concentration of the hydrochloric acid, the concentration of which
will vary between amounts 20 ml to 50 ml in 50 ml solution. The rate will be measured by measuring the
time for the reaction to complete. The rate of time for completion of reaction will be compared
between concentrations, to draw a conclusion about the rate of reaction.

Hypothesis
Increasing the concentration of the HCl means that there will be more particles per dm3 of this
substance.
The more particles that there are in the same volume, the closer to each other the particles will be. This
means that the particles collide more frequently with each other and the rate of the reaction increases.
So, when the concentration of HCL is increasing, the rate of reaction will increase, the less time taken for
the reaction to occur.
Variables
Dependent Variable

Independent Variables
The concentration of HCl is constant at 2 molar
however I will vary its amount in 50 ml solution.

The time taken for the reaction to complete (the

bubbles to stop producing)

Controlled Variables

How will it be controlled?

Temperature of the room

The experiment will be

conducted in the room in the
morning when there is a
constant temperature.

Temperature of Hydrochloric
Acid

All the acid will be stored in one

place prior to the experiment.

Amount of Magnesium Ribbon

A ruler is used to cut 2cm strips

of magnesium ribbon.

Volume Of Hydrochloric Acid

A measuring cylinder will be

used to measure 50 ml of
solution (HCL + water)

20 ml in 50 ml solution
25 ml in 50 ml solution
30 ml in 50 ml solution
35 ml in 50 ml solution
40 ml in 50 ml solution
45 ml in 50 ml solution
50 ml in 50 ml solution

Why does it need to be

controlled?
The temperature needs to be
controlled because it can alter
the chemical reaction and thus
affect the rate of reaction
If the temperature is not
constant, it would alter the rate
of reaction.
The amount of magnesium
ribbon used is a major factor
that affects the rate of reaction.
For a fair test, the same amount
is thus used.
If the volume of solution is used,
it will affect the rate of reaction.

METHOD
Preparation

Using a rule and scissors, 25 2cm strips of magnesium ribbon were cut.
The pieces of magnesium ribbon were then kept in a folder paper to avoid oxidation.
The required 50ml solutions of HCl were prepared.

Experiment
Pour 50 ml of solution (20 ml of 2 molar HCl + 30 ml water) into a conical flask
A 2cm magnesium ribbon was placed into the conical flask of HCl solution.
As soon as the magnesium ribbon was placed into the conical flask, the timer was immediately
started.
The time was recorded on the stopwatch when the fizzing had stopped and the magnesium
ribbon had disappeared.
Steps above were repeated using 25 ml, 30 ml, 35 ml, 40 ml, 45 ml and 50 ml hydrochloric acid.

RESULTS
Data Table 1

HCl volume in 50
ml solution/ml
1 ml

Concentration
(mol.dm-3)

T1 (s) 2s

T2 (s) 2s

T3 (s) 2s

Tavg (s) 2s

20.0

.80

140

143

138

140

25.0

1.0

107

108

110

108

30.0

1.2

73.0

80.0

75.0

76.0

35.0

1.4

53.0

54.0

56.0

54.0

40.0

1.6

46.0

46.0

41.0

44.0

45.0
50.0

1.8
2.0

32.0
24.0

36.0
25.0

30.0
22.0

33.0
24.0

Graph 1

Tavg(s) vs Molarity (mol.dm-3 )

160

Time for Reaction to complete/s

140
120
100
80

Time vs Molarity
Expon. (Time vs Molarity)

60
40
20
0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

Molarity (mol.dm-3 )

ANALYSIS OF GRAPH 1
Graph 1 is a curve graph where the gradient of the curve is steep at the beginning and progressively
becomes horizontal when the concentration is increasing.
Based on the Graph 1 that I plotted, when the concentration of HCl is lowered, the time taken for the
fizzing of bubbles to stop is longer. This means that the rate of reaction is lower. Graph 1 show that the
concentration of HCl is inversely proportional to average time taken for the reaction to complete( fizzing
to stop and the magnesium strip to disappear)
So, to get the straight line graph, I need to plot the graph of 1/time taken for the reaction to complete
versus concentration of HCl.

Data Table 2
HCl volume in 50 ml
solution (ml) 1 ml
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
45.0
50.0

Concentration
(mol.dm-3)
.80
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0

Tavg (s)

1/Tavg (1/s)

140
108
76.0
54.0
44.0
33.0
24.0

.007
.009
.013
.019
.023
.030
.042

Graph 2

1/Tavg(1/s) vs Molarity
0.045

y = 0.028x - 0.0188
R = 0.9448

0.04
0.035

1/Tavg vs
Concentration

1/Tavg (1/s)

0.03
0.025
0.02

Linear (1/Tavg
vs
Concentration )

0.015
0.01
0.005
0
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

Molarity (mol.dm-3)

Analysis of Graph 2
The graph plotted above shows a linear relationship however the best fit line doesn't pass through the
origin, hence I suspect that there was a mistake in my experiment. Graph shows a linear relationship
between Concentration of HCl and Rate of reaction (1/time) showing that they are proportional. This
also confirms that the order of reaction in respect to Concentration Of HCl is 1.

CONCLUSION
The aim for this investigation is to investigate what is the effect of the concentration of Hydrochloric
Acid on the rate of reaction with Magnesium Strip. In my hypothesis statement, I stated when the
concentration of hydrochloric acid increases, the rate of reaction will increase, the less time taken for
the reaction to complete. For the above statement, my hypothesis is proven true because the graph of
rate of reaction versus concentration of Hydrochloric Acid is directly proportional as the relationship
was linear because the graph shows a straight line. Further calculations indicate that the order of
reaction with respect to Hydrochloric Acid is one. This statement holds true because the concentration
of Hydrochloric Acid is proportional to the rate of reaction.

EVALUATION AND WAYS OF IMPROVEMENT

The errors in my experiment could be reduced using the following measures 1) I suspect that there were systematic errors in the experiment because the best fit line of graph was
shifted by a value of -.018. This could occur because of a human error(hand eye co-ordination). Also at
the end of the experiment, the fizzing was sometimes too small to notice thus causing a error in the
experiment.
2) The rate and number of stirring in each experiment is different and this affects the time taken for the
reaction to complete(the magnesium piece to disappear). To improve the experiment, I could use a
magnetic stirrer to make the stirring constant.
3) A significant error is the impurity of water used in the solution of HCl. Solutions of HCl were not pure
and there is no guarantee of this. Even exposure of air could result in disruption of purity of substances.
The water used in the experiment came from a tap where minerals and chemicals could have potentially
affected the results. Therefore to fix the random error, water should be used from a distilled source.
4) Due to time restriction, I could only do 3 trials for each concentration. So to improve the experiment
further more trials can be taken to eliminate random errors in my experiment.