rate experiments

Question 1

what is the initial rate of a reaction and how can you calculate this

Answer 1

1) the rate of the reaction right at the start of the reaction
2) by calculating the gradient of the tangent at time = 0

Question 2

describe the method for an experiment to calculate the rate equation from a reaction

Answer 2

1) repeat an experiment using different initial concentrations of the reactants - you should only change one of the concentrations at a time, keeping the rest constant
2) calculate the initial rate for each experiment
3) compare how the initial concentrations affect the initial concentrations and figure out the order for each reactant

Question 3

what is continuous monitoring

Answer 3

following a reaction all the way through to its ends by recording the amount of product or reactant you have at regular time intervals - this can be used to calculate how rate changes over time

Question 4

what are 4 ways you can follow the rate of a reaction

Answer 4

1) gas volume given off, collect this in a gas syringe and record how much you have at regular time intervals
2) loss of mass - if a gas is given off, the system will lose mass so you can measure this at regular intervals with a balance
3) colour change - you can track colour change at regular intervals using a colorimeter
4) change in pH - if the reaction is produces or uses up H+ ions the ph of the solution will change so you can measure this at regular time intervals.