Electronegativity and Reaction Violence

Overview

Objectives/Goals The purpose of this experiment is to discover the relationship between electronegativity and reaction violence (energy release). Methods/Materials To measure reaction violence, zinc, iron, magnesium, copper, and calcium are separately reacted with iodine in a water-vinegar solution. The temperature change of the solution caused by the reaction is measured with a calorimeter. Results The temperature rise of the vinegar/water solution was inversely proportional to the electronegativity of the reducing agents (ones that give up their electrons, namely Zinc, Iron, Magnesium, Copper, and Calcium). The larger the difference in electronegativity between the reducing agents and iodine, the more energy was released during the reactions. Conclusions/Discussion Data gathered from this experiment suggests that reactants with greater differences in electronegativity release more energy when reacted. This information could be applied as a general rule to industries and laboratories that use large amounts of chemicals. Knowing the possible danger of deliberate or accidental chemical mixtures could ensure safety and avoidance of disasters.

Competition history

• CSEF 2012 Chemistry · Entry S0604

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Browse more like this

• All Chemistry projects
• CSEF Chemistry projects
• Every CSEF 2012 project