By performing this experiment, students in general and introductory physical chemistry can learn more about the effect of a catalyst on a chemical reaction. This experiment, which is a modified version of the traditional iodine clock reaction, allows students to calculate rates of reaction, orders of reactants, and activation energies. It also lets students discover that to increase a reaction's rate, a catalyst need only provide any additional pathway for the reaction, not necessarily a pathway having a lower activation energy. This experiment is designed so that students will notice that the amount of catalyst used is important. Furthermore, the slight amount (~10-5 M MoO42-) of catalyst needed to increase the overall reaction rate and the abrupt color change that occurs seem to pique the interest of our students.
Supplement
Instructions for procedures and calculations and additional information for the instructor are provided.
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