Hello,

So I have recently done a lab with cobalt(II) nitrate and NaOCl (bleach) and our objective was to determine if colbalt or the bleach is part of the rate determining step. With the lab we have done trials by diluting the colbalt and leaving the concentration of bleach the same. We also did the other way around. We also have a control step where both solution are not diluted. The results show that with a diluted catalyst the rate of reaction decreased significantly. While diluting the bleach won't show much of a difference, but still decrease in the rate. With that being said, which solution is part of the rate determining step?

Thanks!

Hello! I am also doing this lab, is the cobalt II nitrate the rate determining step? Thanks!

To determine which solution is part of the rate-determining step, we can analyze the experimental results you obtained.

In the control step where both solutions were not diluted, if you observed a significant decrease in the rate of reaction when the cobalt(II) nitrate catalyst was diluted, it suggests that the catalyst is involved in the rate-determining step. A decrease in concentration of the catalyst results in a slower reaction rate, indicating that the reaction cannot proceed as quickly without an adequate amount of the catalyst.

On the other hand, if diluting the bleach (NaOCl) did not show a significant difference in the reaction rate, it implies that the bleach is not part of the rate-determining step. This means that the concentration of NaOCl does not greatly affect the overall reaction rate.

Based on these observations, we can conclude that the cobalt(II) nitrate catalyst is part of the rate-determining step of the reaction you studied. Diluting the catalyst resulted in a significant decrease in the reaction rate, indicating its importance in the rate-determining step. Diluting the bleach had a less pronounced effect, suggesting that it is not as critical in determining the overall rate of the reaction.

Remember that this conclusion is specific to the conditions and reaction you investigated in your experiment. Different reactions may have different rate-determining steps.