Question

I've been working on a project that uses some abnormal methods to calculate the activation energy using only one trial of an exothermic reaction. However now that I've completed the lab, I want to find a literature value or at least another lab which calculated the activation energy before. Balanced equation below:

MgCO₃(s)+2HCl(aq)⟶MgCl₂(aq)+CO₂(g)+H₂O(l)
I've checked through all of the responses to Is there a database on chemical reactions, similar to NIST, but far more complete? However, all the replies focused on organic chemistry or purely gaseous reactions. Where can I find a database or lab which measured the activation energy of similar/the same reaction?

Answer 1

To find the activation energy for the reaction of MgCO3 and HCl, you may need to review scientific journals or specific databases, as a universal resource may not exist. An alternative is to estimate the activation energy through temperature-based experiments or comparison with similar reactions.

Step-by-step explanation:

Finding the activation energy for a chemical reaction like the one between magnesium carbonate and hydrochloric acid can be quite challenging, especially if you're looking for literature values or previous lab experiments.

One way to derive activation energy is through the use of the Arrhenius equation, which can provide an estimate based on the temperature dependence of the rate constant from experiments.

However, without a comprehensive chemical reaction database that includes non-organic and gaseous compounds, it can be tough to locate a specific activation energy value.

It's recommended to review scientific journals, research articles, or specific chemistry databases that cover a wide range of reactions including inorganic ones. While there may not be a single definitive source, databases like the Journal of Chemical Education or the American Chemical Society publications might contain previous studies on similar reactions.

If specific activation energies haven't been measured, you could potentially estimate it by conducting your own temperature-variation experiments or by comparing with reactions that have similar mechanisms or bond energies.