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6 (a) A student investigated the rate of a reaction - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry - Question 6 - 2013 - Paper 1
Question 6
6 (a) A student investigated the rate of a reaction. The student investigated the reaction between zinc and dilute sulfuric acid. The products are zinc sulfate, Zn... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:6 (a) A student investigated the rate of a reaction - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry - Question 6 - 2013 - Paper 1
Step 1
Step 2
Evaluate these results, explaining the reasons why the rate of reaction in experiment 2 is faster than the rate of reaction in experiment 1.
Answer
In experiment 2, the concentration of sulfuric acid is higher (1.5 mol dm⁻³) compared to experiment 1 (0.5 mol dm⁻³). A higher concentration of acid increases the number of reactive particles in the solution, which leads to more frequent collisions between reactant particles.
Additionally, the temperature in experiment 2 is higher (40 °C) compared to experiment 1 (20 °C). Higher temperatures provide particles with more energy, leading to an increase in the rate of successful collisions, which further accelerates the reaction rate.
Thus, both higher concentration and temperature in experiment 2 contribute to a greater frequency of collisions and increased energy of the particles, resulting in a faster reaction rate.
Step 3
Step 4
Draw labelled lines to show the relative energies of the reactants and products in this reaction.
Answer
In the diagram, the energy level of the reactants (Zn and CuSO₄) should be higher than that of the products (ZnSO₄ and Cu). This demonstrates that the reaction is exothermic, indicating that energy is released as the products are formed.