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Alka Seltzer Lab Report

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The Effects of Temperatures on Reaction Time of Alka-Seltzer
Emily Reynolds
October 11, 2015
General Biology Laboratory
Northwest Missouri State University
Mrs. Heather Meler

INTRODUCTION It has been observed that chemical reactions occur at different rates. But, what causes the rates to change? One of the most effective ways to find the answer to that question is through experiments. It has been learned through experimentation that the concentration of a chemical and the temperature can affect the rate of the reaction (Taylor and Mortimer 2002). The formula of Alka-Seltzer is C16H17NaO14. With its large amount of hydrogen ions, it’s the perfect combination to use. Heat has to be absorbed in order to break hydrogen bonds in a chemical reaction. Since Alka-Seltzer has 17 hydrogen molecules, it would take a lot more heat to break the bonds quickly. The bonds could break at lower temperatures, it would just take longer. This research poses the question: does the temperature actually affect the rate of a chemical reaction? Alka-Seltzer has chemical energy: the potential energy …show more content…

The reaction rate changes based on temperature, so if the cold temperature or hot temperature isn’t the same for all of the trials, the reaction time won’t be either. If the temperatures are too similar, like the cold and room temperature in all three trials, there isn’t a constant temperature gap to accurately see the reaction time difference. The temperature difference between the cold, room temperature, and hot water for each beaker should be constant for all trials. The timer could also be a potential error. The time needs to be started and stopped at the same point for all of the tablets, so human error could have occurred. Also, the tablets could pose an error if they aren’t the same size or broken. The tablets used should not be broken, and they should be weighed before each

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