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Chemical Reaction On Chemical Kinetics

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Olivia Isaacs
C127
15 November 2014
Chemical Kinetics
Objective:
This experiment runs many reactions varying the concentrations of the reactants in order to determine the order for each component and the rate constant.
Introduction:
Chemical kinetics is the study of how fast a chemical reaction occurs and the factors that affect the speed of reaction.1 Reaction rates are the measure of how much the concentration of reactants change during a given reaction.1 The rate of change of the reactants, Rate = - Δ [X]/Δt, is related to the slope of the concentration vs. time graph.1 From observing reaction rates, the overall order of the reaction and the rate constant can be calculated by using the integrated rate laws. For a zero-order reaction, the rate law can be written as [A]t = -kt + [A]0, where [A]t is the concentration at a given time, k is the negative slope, t is the time, and [A]0 is the initial concentration.2 Using the same variables, a first order reaction can be written as ln[A]t = -kt + ln[A]0 and a second order can be written as 1/[A]t = kt + 1/[A]0.2 On a graph, these concentrations are plotted vs. time, allowing the R2 value and equation of the line to be calculated. The R2 value is used in determining the order of the reaction. The closer the R2 value is to 1, the more likely that the graph displays the correct reaction order. The y=mx+b equation provides information about the slope and y-intercept, essential when determining the order and rate constant.

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