Reaction Kinetics

The 1:1 bag that you just measured was an example of a stoichiometric reaction.

In theory, 100% of the reactants should form products. In reality, we find that this is only the case if infinite time is given to let the reaction proceed.

For this reason it is always important to consider kinetics (how fast a reaction will proceed) if we have a limited time to wait for our reaction.

Keep this in mind as you try experimenting with different ratios of sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid.

The video below shows four different bag ratios reacting side by side.

Watch the video and record your observations in your lab notebook.

Video: Four airbags containing different ratios of sodium bicarbonate to acetic acid, are reacted and shown simultaneously. The ratios are 1:1, 2:2, 1:2, and 2:1. The airbags inflate at different speeds. The 2:2 bag inflates the quickest while the 1:1 bag inflates the slowest. The 1:2 and 2:1 airbags inflate with approximately the same speed. At the end of the video, the airbags are shown to have inflated to different volumes. The 2:2 airbag inflates to the largest volume whereas the 1:1 bag has the smallest volume. The 1:2 and 2:1 airbags inflate to approximately the same volume.

Which ratio reacted the most quickly? Is this what you expected?

Try different ratios

Report abuse