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    How To Determine Ea - S17

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    Martin Celestino
    To experimentally determine the activation energy (Ea) of a chemical reaction: 1. Measure reaction rate (k) at different temperatures (T). 2. Create an Arrhenius plot of ln(k) vs. 1/T, which should be linear. 3. The slope of the best-fit line equals -Ea/R. 4. Use the slope and the equation relating it to Ea/R to calculate the numerical value of Ea.

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    How To Determine Ea - S17

    Uploaded by

    Martin Celestino
    33 views1 page
    To experimentally determine the activation energy (Ea) of a chemical reaction: 1. Measure reaction rate (k) at different temperatures (T). 2. Create an Arrhenius plot of ln(k) vs. 1/T, which should be linear. 3. The slope of the best-fit line equals -Ea/R. 4. Use the slope and the equation relating it to Ea/R to calculate the numerical value of Ea.

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    How to Determine Ea_S17

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    To experimentally determine the activation energy (Ea) of a chemical reaction: 1. Measure reaction rate (k) at different temperatures (T). 2. Create an Arrhenius plot of ln(k) vs. 1/T, which should be linear. 3. The slope of the best-fit line equals -Ea/R. 4. Use the slope and the equation relating it to Ea/R to calculate the numerical value of Ea.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    33 views1 page

    How To Determine Ea - S17

    Uploaded by

    Martin Celestino
    To experimentally determine the activation energy (Ea) of a chemical reaction: 1. Measure reaction rate (k) at different temperatures (T). 2. Create an Arrhenius plot of ln(k) vs. 1/T, which should be linear. 3. The slope of the best-fit line equals -Ea/R. 4. Use the slope and the equation relating it to Ea/R to calculate the numerical value of Ea.

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    How to experimentally determine the value of Ea for a chemical reaction

    The Arrhenius equation was discussed today in class, but I may not have discussed something
    that would help you prepare for this week’s experiment: how to experimentally determine the
    value of Ea (activation energy). I will address that here.

    Basically, the answer to this question (how to get Ea) comes from taking the natural log of both
    sides of the Arrhenius equation. Note: This derivation may look “bad” or long, but really, it is
    not as long as it looks since I am showing every little step to make sure you see how I get to the
    final relationship:
    Ea

    k  Ae RT
    Start with the Arrhenius Equation
     E
     a 
     ln k  ln  Ae RT
     Take the natural log of both sides
     
      Ea 
     lnA + ln  e RT  Use “product rule” of logs: ln(AB) = lnA + lnB
     
    E
     lnA +  a  Simplify using ln(ex) = x
    RT
    E
      a  ln A Rewrite using x + y = y + x (swap the terms)
    RT
    E 1 x x 1
      a  ln A Rewrite using  
    R T yz y z

    Note: The only variables in this equation are k and T. Ea is


    Ea 1
     ln k    ln A a constant for a given reaction, A is a constant
    R T (effectively) for a given reaction, and R is the gas
    constant (a fundamental constant in nature).

    y = m x + b

    The boxed equation above shows that a plot of lnk vs. 1/T for a particular chemical reaction should be linear, and the
    activation energy, Ea, is related to the slope of this line. Specifically, the slope equals the opposite of Ea divided by R:
    E
    m   a As such, one can solve for Ea if one knows m (since R is a constant, having a value of 8.314 J/mol∙K)
    R

    Thus, to determine Ea experimentally:

    1) Determine values of k as a function of T experimentally (i.e., change T and determine k at each T)


    2) Create a table of k values and T values. Make sure to convert T values into absolute (i.e. Kelvin) temperatures.
    3) Calculate lnk from the k values, and 1/T values from the T values.
    4) Make a plot using 1/T values as the x values and lnk values as the y values. (i.e., Plot lnk vs 1/T)
    5) Draw a “best-fit” line to the data (or better yet, have a software program calculate the best fit line [or
    “Trendline” in Excel] to the data).
    6) Find slope of the best-fit line (or better yet, have a software program determine it for you)
    7) Set up the equation, m = -Ea/R (using R = 8.314 J/mol∙K)
    8) Solve for Ea algebraically (Note: Ea has units! Look closely at the units on your x-axis; the y-axis variable has
    no units)

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