BRAINCAKEMeasuring Reaction Rates
Knowing how fast a reaction proceeds is essential in designing manufacturing plants or considering the economics of industrial processes. It also gives evidence about the mechanism of a chemical reaction. The initial rate of a chemical reaction can be obtained from the slope of a tangent of a concentration-time graph drawn at t=0 seconds. For reactions involving acids or bases titrations or a pH meter can be used to measure changes in pH with time. For reactions that produce gases the change in volume or pressure or loss in mass can be measured. For reactions where there is a colour change colorimetry can be used to follow the changes. For reactions where there is a precipitate formed the time taken for a mark on a white tile to disappear can be measured. The results for the decomposition of sulfur dichloride are shown
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Key terms in this lesson
- colorimetry
- A technique that measures the concentration of a coloured solution from how much light of a particular wavelength it absorbs.
- titration
- A technique for finding the volume of one solution that exactly reacts with a known volume of another, used to find concentration.
More in Rate of Reaction
- The Rate of a Reaction
- Experimental Determination of the Rate of Reaction
- The Rate Equation
- The Order of a Reaction
- The Rate Constant k
- Worked Example
- Half-Lives and Reaction Rate Graphs
- The Rate Determining Step
All 11 lessons in Rate of Reaction · All Edexcel A-level Chemistry topics