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Altering the Amount of Heat Produced When Magnesium Reacts with Sulphuric Acid

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Altering the Amount of Heat Produced When Magnesium Reacts with Sulphuric Acid

When energy in the form of heat is given out of a reaction it is an exothermic reaction. Exothermic reactions usually need activation energy, the energy to break the bonds in the chemicals and to start the reaction. Once the bonds are broken new stronger bonds are formed. In an exothermic reaction energy in the form so heat is given out to the surrounding when the products are formed. Therefore there is an average rise in temperature; energy is lost which results in a negative ?H.

The outcome variable for this experiment is to conclude what changes can be made to vary the heat energy when magnesium is reacted with …show more content…

This is collision theory. The two molecules will only react if they have enough energy. By heating the mixture, you will raise the energy levels of the molecules involved in the reaction. Increasing temperature means the molecules move faster. This is kinetic theory.

How do catalysts affect the rate of a reaction? Catalysts speed up chemical reactions. Only very minute quantities of the catalyst are required to produce a dramatic change in the rate of the reaction. This is really because the reaction proceeds by a different pathway when the catalyst is present. Adding extra catalyst will make absolutely no difference.

There are two ways in which catalysts work. When two different molecules bump into each other, they might react to make new chemicals. We usually talk about "collisions" between molecules; it would be much simpler to say that the molecules bumped into each other. How fast a chemical reaction is depends upon how frequently the molecules collide. You have probably been told about the "kinetic theory" which is all about heat and how fast molecules move around. What catalysts are doing when they make a chemical reaction go faster is to increase the chance of molecules colliding. The first method is by "adsorption"; the second method is by the formation of intermediate compounds.

Adsorption This occurs when a molecule

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