IB | Higher Level Chemistry IA

How does concentration of hydrochloric acid aff ect its rate of reaction
with magnesium?
Introduction
This investigation will explore how the rate of reaction of magnesium and
hydrochloric acid varies with the concentration of hydrochloric acid. Magnesium
is relatively high on the reactivity series, so it will react with dilute hydrochloric
at room temperature quite quickly. According to kinetic-molecular theory,
increasing concentration will increase rate of reaction, as increased
concentration leads to a greater number of collisions between reactant particles
every second, which is one of the conditions necessary for a reaction to take
place. This leads to an increased number of successful, reacting collisions,
increasing the rate of reaction.
The acid-metal reaction can be expressed in a chemical equation:

Mg (s) + 2HCl

(aq)

-> MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)

The reaction should produce hydrogen gas, which will cause noticeable
effervescence (a white gas) during the reaction. When the reaction is complete,
no more gas will be produced, so the data collection in each trial will conclude
when effervescence has stopped.
The investigation will vary concentration of hydrochloric acid, which could be
done by selecting different molarities of already-prepared acid. A convenient
alternative is to manually dilute a known volume and concentration of
hydrochloric acid to produce acid solutions of different molarities. The molarity of
a solution can be calculated using the formula:

m1 v 1=m2 v 2
Where m1 and m2 are the final and initial concentrations and v 1 and v2 are the
total volume of solution and volume of solvent respectively. To calculate the
amount of solvent necessary to create 0.2M of hydrochloric acid solution, the
method below is used.
Calculation

Variables
Independent: volume of 1M hydrochloric acid
Dependent: time taken for reaction to go to completion
Control variables are discussed in Table 1:
Controlled variable

How it will be

Value

controlled
Length of magnesium Measure with a ruler and
ribbon
cut to appropriate length
with scissors.
Total volume of acid
Measure out same
solution
volume of acid for all
trials. Make up to
required concentration
with distilled water.
Temperature
Perform experiment
indoors, away from
sources of heat.
Regulate temperature
Measure room
temperature at start and
end of experiment.
Table 1: Controlled variables

5cm

50cm3

25C

Methodology
1. Measure out 40cm3 of distilled water with a measuring cylinder
2. Pour into a beaker
3. Measure out 10cm3 of 1M hydrochloric acid with a measuring cylinder
4. Pour into beaker of distilled water to make acid solution
5. Cut 5cm length of magnesium ribbon
6. Rub oxidized layer with sandpaper until ribbon is completely shiny
7. Add magnesium ribbon to acid solution
8. Start stopwatch
9. Record qualitative observations in Table 2
10.When effervescing stops, stop the stopwatch and record time
11.Repeat steps 1-10 twice
12.Repeat steps 1-9 for the rest of volumes shown below in Table 2
Safety: wear goggles and lab coat, remain standing, take care when handling
acid, dilute acid by pouring acid into water
Data table
Volume
(cm3 2)

Concentration of
solution
(mol dm-3 0.05)

Time to
completion
(s 1)
Trial 1 Trial Trial 3
2

Hydrochloric Wate
acid
r
10
40
0.2
20
30
0.4
30
20
0.6
40
10
0.8
50
0
1.0
Table 2: Raw quantitative data table for experimentation
Concentration of
solution
(mol dm-3 0.05)
0.2

Qualitative observations

0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
Table 3: Raw qualitative data table for experimentation