Michael Rodriguez

Kali Taitano

University of Central Florida, 2023

Determining Rate Order for a Reaction Including Acetone, Iodine,

Hydrochloric Acid and Water

1. Introduction:

Chemical kinetics is a branch of chemistry that focuses on the rate of chemical reactions.

The importance of this study is integral to many professional fields from pharmaceuticals to

cooking. The rate at which a chemical reaction takes place influences so much of our daily life;

for example, we can look at a pharmaceutical professional using chemical kinetics to determine

how quickly a drug will affect and aid a patient. The effectiveness and efficiency of this reaction

can be described through rates and rate laws. The rate of a reaction is simply defined as the

concentration of a substance that is used over a certain amount of time [1]. A rate law is an

equation that scientists can use to compare the concentrations of each reactant and how they will

affect the rate of the reaction. A typical rate law is written as following formula: rate =

k[A]m[B]n[C]p. The exponents are substituted with the order the reaction is with respect to A, B,

or C. The order of the reaction with respect to each reactant tells us how the rate will change

when the concentration of a certain reactant is altered. This experiment will allow us to find the

rate order in the reaction between HCl, acetone, I2, and deionized water.

2. Experimental Methods:
 In preparation for the multiple trials of this experiment, 100mL of hydrochloric acid

(HCl), acetone, iodine (I2), and deionized water are gathered in 150mL beakers. A 250mL

beaker, a graduated cylinder, a stopwatch or phone for timing, gloves, and recording materials

are brought to the station where the experiment will be conducted. The appropriate amount of

HCl, acetone, and deionized water as seen in Table 1 are measured out and poured in the 250mL

beaker.

HCl (mL) Acetone (mL) Water (mL) I2 (mL) Total Volume

Trial 5 5 10 5 25mL
1
Trial 5 5 5 10 25mL
2
Trial 5 10 5 5 25mL
3
Trial 10 5 5 5 25mL
4
Table 1 The proper amounts of each liquid used in each experiment trial and the total volume of the solutions.
Once the HCl, acetone, and water have been combined the I2 is added to the solution. The

stopwatch is started immediately after the I2 is added. The solution is not stirred or agitated in

any fashion. The color of the solution is observed until it is completely colorless and transparent.

The stopwatch is then stopped, and the time is recorded in seconds. Each of the steps is repeated

until all 4 trials have been completed once. After each trial has been completed, the experiment is

repeated once more or until all trials are within 20 seconds of each other to collect more data.

The waste from each trial is poured into a waste bucket placed in a waste hood.

3. Results:
 This section is broken down into subsections to better organize all the data and math that

was collected and completed. Tables and figures are used to visualize most of the data and math.

3.1 Raw data of times recorded for each trial.

Time in first experiment Time in second experiment Average time

(s) (s) (s)
Trial 1 795 750 772.5
Trial 2 838 1544 1191
Trial 3 457 517 487
Trial 4 379 - 379
Table 2 Times recorded for each experiment and trial in seconds.

3.2 Finding the concentrations of each reactant before the reaction starts.

The following equation was used to find the concentrations shown in bold in the last

column of Table 3, Table 4, and Table 5:

M1V1 = M2V2

M2 = M1V1 / V2

E.g. (Numbers used are from Trial 1)

M2 = 0.005 M I2 (5.00 mL I2) / 25.00mL

M2 = 0.0010 M I2

Volume I2 Bulk I2 Total Volume Concentration I2

(mL) (M) (mL) (M)
Trial 1 5.00 0.005 25.00 0.0010

Trial 2 10.00 0.005 25.00 0.0020

Trial 3 5.00 0.005 25.00 0.0010

 Trial 4 5.00 0.005 25.00 0.0010

Table 3 Finding the concentration of I2 prior to the rection.

Volume acetone Bulk acetone Total Volume Concentration acetone

(mL) (M) (mL) (M)
Trial 1 5.00 4.0 25.00 0.8

Trial 2 5.00 4.0 25.00 0.8

Trial 3 10.00 4.0 25.00 1.6

Trial 4 5.00 4.0 25.00 0.8

Table 4 Finding the concentration of acetone prior to the rection.

Volume HCl Bulk HCl Total Volume Concentration HCl

(mL) (M) (mL) (M)
Trial 1 5.00 1.0 25.00 0.2

Trial 2 5.00 1.0 25.00 0.2

Trial 3 5.00 1.0 25.00 0.2

Trial 4 10.00 1.0 25.00 0.4

Table 5 Finding the concentration of HCl prior to the rection.

3.3 Finding the rate of each trial.

The concentration of iodine will be divided by the average amount of time each trial took

to finish the reaction. The equation will look as follows:

ratetrial = [I2] / average time per trial

I2 Average time Rate

(M) (s) (M-1s-1)
Trial 1 0.0010 772.5 1.29 x 10-6
Trial 2 0.0020 1191 1.68 x 10-6
 Trial 3 0.0010 487 2.05 x 10-6
Trial 4 0.0010 379 2.64 x 10-6
Table 6 Data used to determine rate per trial.

3.4 Finding the order of each trial with respect to each reactant.

The following equation will be used to determine the order of each reactant (m, n, and p).

Trial 1 will always be used as the denominator in this equation; each subsequent trial will be

used in the numerator.

rate 2 m n
=k [ acetone ] [ HCl ] ¿ ¿
rate 1

−6
1.68 x 10 m n
−6
=k [ acetone ] [ HCl ] ¿ ¿
1.29 x 10
−6
1.68 x 10
−6
=¿ ¿
1.29 x 10
p
1.30=2

log (1.30)
=p
log (2)

p=.4 ≈ 0

Each variable is solved for, and the resulting orders are revealed:

m = 1st order
n = 1st order
p = 0th order
3.5 Finding the rate constant of each trial and average rate constant among the trials.
 To find k in each trial we will simply plug in all the known values from each trial and

solve for k.

1 1
1.29 x 10−6=k [ 0.8 ] [ 0.2 ] ¿

−6
k trial1=8.06 x 10

Solving for each k value you are left with the following:

−6
k trial1=8.06 x 10

−5
k trial2=1.05 x 10

−6
k trial3=6.41 x 10

−6
k trial 4=8.25 x 10

Finally, taking an average of the rate constants we are left with the following:

−6
k avg=8.30 x 10

4. Conclusion and Discussion:

Our results from experimentation led us to believe that the rate order of the reaction was

1st order with respect to acetone and HCl and 0th order to I2. This makes sense as we see drastic

decreases in average time for the reaction to reach completion in trials 3 and 4 when there is a

higher concentration of acetone (trial 3) and HCl (trial 4). Since the reaction is 1 st order with

respect to both of these reactants, we can mathematically predict that any change in

concentration will affect the rate at a proportional amount to the change in concentration of either

of these reactants. The concentration of I2 will not affect the rate of the reaction since the reaction
is 0th order with respect to I2. The results were surprising to me as I expected I2 to make the

biggest difference in the rate of the reaction when in reality it had little to no effect at all.

Though our experiment yielded results that brought us to an answer similar to other

groups, there is significant error in our data that have me skeptical of the validity of our

conclusion. Firstly, we did not finish all of our trials which can lead to a skewed average time per

reaction in the equation used in section 3.3. Another error was our inability to replicate a trial

time that was within 20 seconds of the previous attempt. This was our biggest error in the

experimentation process and definitely skewed the math that led us to the reaction rate or each

trial.

5. References:

1. “Some Kinetic Principles.” Encyclopedia Britannica,

www.britannica.com/science/chemical-kinetics/Some-kinetic-principles. Accessed 9 July
2023.