Relationship between conc. of an acid and rate of reaction if temp. is not constant.

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Homework Statement

In the reaction between a reactive metal and an acid the rate depends on the concentration of the acid.

In a perfect experiment with all variable kept constant the rate of reaction and the concentration would be directly proportional to each other.

However if in the experiment you did not account for the exothermic nature of the reaction what would be the relationship between the 2 variables?

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

I think its either proportional or exponential but I can't find anything about exponential relationships in my notes?

Thanks
AL

 

[nate808]

Dear AL,

Thank you for your forum post. You are correct in thinking that in a perfect experiment with all variables kept constant, the rate of reaction and the concentration would be directly proportional to each other. This is known as the rate law, which states that the rate of a chemical reaction is directly proportional to the concentration of the reactants.

However, the exothermic nature of the reaction can affect the relationship between the two variables. An exothermic reaction releases heat, which can increase the rate of the reaction. This means that the rate of reaction may not be directly proportional to the concentration of the acid, but it could be a slightly exponential relationship.

To fully understand the relationship between the two variables, it would be important to conduct additional experiments and analyze the data. This would allow you to determine the exact relationship between the rate of reaction and the concentration of the acid in the presence of an exothermic reaction.

I hope this helps. Keep up the good work in your scientific investigations!