Alka-Seltzer Surface Area Rate of Reaction Lab

Welcome! In this lab investigation, students will test how long it takes the designated number of tablet pieces to dissolve with a varying amount of surface area. The surface area is a critical factor that affects the rate of reaction in chemical processes, along with temperature, pressure, the concentration of reactants, enzymes, and the presence of inhibitors. I facilitate this activity in my eighth-grade physical science class. High school physical science and biology teachers could also utilize this activity to reinforce this integral factor that affects the rate of reaction.

The materials needed for each group, but not included in this listing, are – Five Alka-Seltzer tablets, timer, a 100-ml graduated cylinder, a 250-ml beaker, pairs of safety goggles, and lab aprons. Generic versions of Alka-Seltzer will work for this lab, as would denture cleaning tablets like TopCare Denture Cleanser.

The student lab sheet is a full page in length. It is their responsibility to record their hypothesis, fill in the data in Table 1 according to the instructions, create a titled and labeled line graph from the data, and answer six questions in the conclusion section.

This document is in a PDF file. It will become editable upon conversion to Microsoft Word using an Adobe Acrobat Reader DC app.

There is no answer key since the answers could vary for each question.

The six questions in the conclusion section are as follows.

1. Restate the purpose of the lab.

2. Explain what the data plot line on the graph shows. Identify any trends that exist.
3. Compare your data with two other groups’ results. How do they compare?
4. Did the class results support your hypothesis? _________________________________ Defend your answer.

5. Identify two sources of error that could have occurred during the study that may have affected the class results.
6. Explain what you would do differently about the procedure if you were to repeat this study.

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