UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
España, Manila

POST-LABORATORY REPORT # 3
Determining the Order of a Chemical Reaction

Submitted by:
Judy Anne Mae M. Del Rosario
1ChE - A

Submitted to:
Sir James Colades
Introduction

Chemical Kinetics is the study of rates of chemical reactions. The rate of a

chemical reaction indicates is the amount of substance reacted or produced per unit
time. It is basically how quickly the reactants are consumed and how quickly the
products are produced. The rate law is an expression indicating how the rate depends
on the concentrations of the reactants and catalysts. The power of the concentration in
the rate law expression is called the order with respect to the reactant or catalyst. The
rate law is always determined experimentally. There are several ways to determine the
rate law for a particular reaction. One way of determining the rate law is by the Method
of Initial Rates, where the experiments are designed to investigate the concentration
effect of one of the reactants while keeping the others constant. Another is by the use of
the Integrated Form of the Rate Law where the reaction depends on one species and if
the reaction is well behaved, the order of the reaction can be determined graphically.

The rate law is given by the general form:

Rate = k [ A ] X [ B ] Y (Eqn. 1)

where X and Y are referred to as the orders of reaction with respect to the two
reactants (A and B). It also describes how the reactant concentration affects the rate of
the reaction. The k is the specific rate constant and it is related to a particular reaction
and temperature. The order of the reaction is simply the sum of the exponents on the
rate law.

Reaction Order = X + Y (Eqn. 2)

One needs to know the order of a reaction because it tells the functional
relationship between concentration and rate. It also determines how the amount of a
compound speeds up or slows down a reaction. Often, the exponents in the rate law are
the positive integers: 0, 1, and 2.

For a zero-order reaction, the change of the concentration of the reactant and the
rate remains the same or is unchanged. These are the reactions where a reactant
decreases at a steady rate regardless of the concentration. For a first-order reaction,
the change of the concentration of the reactant and the rate changes the same. These
are the reactions where the reaction rate is fast at the beginning of the reaction and
slows down as the reaction progresses. The graph of a first-order reaction will result in a
straight line. For a second-order reaction, the change of the concentration of the
reactant and the rate changes to the square of the change. Like the first-order reaction,
the second-order reaction start out quickly and then slows down as the reaction
progresses. The graph of a second-order reaction will also result in a straight line.

This experiment aims to determine the order of the reaction between sodium
thiosulfate and hydrochloric acid. To determine the order of the reaction in terms of
sodium thiosulfate, the volume of the hydrochloric acid would be constant and the
volume of the sodium thiosulfate and water would change. To determine the order of the
reaction in terms if hydrochloric acid, the volume of the sodium thiosulfate would be
constant and the volume of the hydrochloric acid and water would change.

Methodology

I. Materials and Apparatus

 Reagents:
a. 125 mL 0.15 M sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O32-)
b. 31 mL 3M Hydrochloric Acid (HCL)
 250 mL beaker
 10 mL and 100 mL graduated cylinders
 Smart Phone (an an alternative for the stopwatch)
II. Procedure

After preparing the needed instruments, the paper with an “X” mark was placed
at the bottom of the beaker as shown in Figure 1.

During the first part of the experiment, 25mL of 0.15M Na2S2O3 and 4mL of 3M
HCl was measured using the 50 and 10mL graduated cylinder, respectively. The
solutions were then combined (as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3) and as soon as the
hydrochloric acid was poured, the timer on our smart phone would start to know how
long it will take for the “X” mark to be unnoticed. After inputting the time it took on the
data sheet provided, 20mL, 15mL, 10mL and 5mL of 0.15M Na2S2O3 was measured
and 5mL, 10mL, 15mL and 20mL of water was measured, respectively. The volume of
the 3M HCl was constant to 4mL. The time was then acquired after each solution when
the “X” mark was to be unnoticed.

During the second part of the experiment, the same procedure was done just like
the first part. The difference was that the volume of the 0.15M Na2S2O3 was constant to
10 mL. The volume of the water used was 0mL, 1mL, 2mL, 3mL, and 4mL and the
volume of the 3M HCl was 5mL, 4mL, 3mL, 2mL, and 1mL, respectively. The time was
then acquired after each solution when the “X” mark was to be unnoticed.

Due to the lack of time, the second trial for the experiment was not done.

Results and Discussion

Table 1 shows the accumulated results after doing the first part of the
experiment. This is done to determine the order of reaction in terms of the sodium
thiosulfate.

Table 1. Determination of Order of Reaction in terms of Na2S203.

Vol. of 0.15M Vol of water in Vol of 3M HCl in Trial 1 (time in 1/t (time in
Na2S203 in mL mL mL seconds) 1/second)
25 0 4 11.20 0.089286
20 5 4 12.95 0.07722
15 10 4 15.72 0.063613
10 15 4 24.68 0.040552
5 20 4 34.51 0.028977
 1/t Against the Natural Logarithm of Na2S203
when HCl is constant
0.1
y = 0.0157x + 0.0127
0.09
0.08 0.089286

0.07 0.07722
0.06
1/t (s-1)

0.063613
0.05
0.04
0.03 0.040552

0.02 0.028977
0.01
0
1.609438 2.302585 2.70805 2.995732 3.218875
Natural Logarithm of Na2S203

Figure 5. 1/t Against the Natural Logarithm of Na2S2O3 when HCl is constant

It can be seen that as the sodium thiosulfate decreases, the time it takes for the
“X” mark to be obscure increases slightly which makes the rate of the reaction slower
and with that, it can be said that the sodium thiosulfate is inversely proportional to time
and directly proportional to the rate of the reaction. To clearly show the relationship, the
rate of reaction is plotted against the natural logarithm of thiosulfate when the acid is
constant as shown in figure 5.

With the given equation of the best fit line, the order of the reaction with respect
to the thiosulfate is 0.015 which is congruent to zero. With that being stated, the order of
reaction with respect to the thiosulfate is in the zero order.

Table 2 shows the accumulated results after doing the second part of the
experiment. This is done to determine the order of reaction in terms of the hydrochloric
acid.
 Table 2. Determination of Order of Reaction in terms of HCl.

Vol. of 0.15M Vol of water in Vol of 3M HCl in Trial 1 (time in 1/t (time in
Na2S203 in mL mL mL seconds) 1/second)
10 0 5 10.79 0.092678
10 1 4 11.82 0.084602
10 2 3 13.40 0.074627
10 3 2 16.94 0.059032
10 4 1 19.37 0.051626

1/t Against the Natural Logarithm of HCl when

Na2S2O3 is constant
0.1
y = 0.0108x + 0.0402
0.09
0.092678
0.08
0.084602
0.07
0.074627
0.06
1/t (s-1)

0.059032
0.05
0.051626
0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0
0 0.693147 1.098612 1.386294 1.609438
Natural Logarithm of HCl

Figure 6. 1/t Against the Natural Logarithm of HCl when Na2S2O3 is constant

It can be seen that as the hydrochloric acid decreases, the time it takes for the
“X” mark to be obscure increases which makes the rate of the reaction slower and with
that, it can be said that the hydrochloric acid is inversely proportional to time and directly
proportional to the rate of the reaction but with a little bit of difference. To clearly show
the relationship, the rate of reaction is plotted against the natural logarithm of the
hydrochloric acid when the thiosulfate is constant as shown in figure 6.

With the given equation of the best fit line, the order of the reaction with respect
to the hydrochloric acid is 0.010 which is congruent to zero. With that being stated, the
order of reaction with respect to the hydrochloric acid is in the zero order.

The over-all order of the reaction is obtained by adding the calculated X and Y of
the trial 1, where the X is the order of reaction in terms of thiosulfate and Y is the order
of reaction in terms of hydrochloric acid.

Calculation:

0.015 + 0.010 = 0.025 ≈ 0

Conclusions

Chemical Kinetics describes the relationship between the measured rates of

chemical reactions and the detailed atomic and molecular mechanisms via which the
observed chemical change occurs. Knowing the rate law of a reaction gives clues to the
reaction mechanism. The result of the experiment shows that the order of reaction in
terms of sodium thiosulfate was 0.015 and the order of reaction in terms of hydrochloric
acid was 0.010. The obtained over-all order of reaction was 0.025 which could be
congruent to zero. The graph indicates the relationship of the natural logarithm of the
solution and one over the time it took to be obscure. This indicates that the two are
directly proportional. Therefore, the time and the natural logarithm of the solution are
inversely proportional to each other.

The reaction is governed by the zero-order reaction with respect to sodium

thiosulfate which means that if the natural logarithm of the thiosulfate is changed, the
rate of conversion to product may vary but with a little difference. The reaction is also
governed by the zero-order reaction with respect to hydrochloric acid which means that
if the natural logarithm of the acid changes, the rate of reaction would make no
difference. With this, the overall order of the reaction would be zero between the
thiosulfate and the acid.

In this experiment, errors cannot be avoided. One of the errors in this experiment
is the error in recording the time of the solution for it to be unnoticeable. Another error is
the inaccurate measurement of the solutions which are the sodium thiosulfate,
hydrochloric acid and water. These errors may affect the result obtained in the
experiment.

References

1. Zumdahl, S. A., Zumdahl, S. S. (2013). Chemistry: An Atom’s First Approach.

Quezon City, Philippines: Hiyas Press.

2. Clark, J. Determining Reaction Order. Retrieved from

http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Core/Physical_Chemistry/Kinetics/Rate_Laws/The_Rat
e_Law/Order_of_Reaction_Experiments

3. Clark, J. Orders of Reactions and Mechanisms. (2013, October) Retrieved from

http://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/basicrates/ordermech.html