Kinetics of the Bromate-Bromide Reaction

The applet below simulates the reaction between bromate ion and bromide ion in acidic solution.

BrO3- + 5 Br- + 6 H+ 3 Br2 + 3 H2O

The rate law for this reaction can be written in the following form:

rate = k [BrO3-]a [Br-]b [H+]c

The rate constant is represented by k. The parameters a, b, and c must be determined empirically.

The applet simulates this reaction. The initial concentrations of the bromate ion, bromide ion, and hydrogen ion must be specified. The final reaction time must also be specified. When the simulation is run, a plot of concentration vs. time for the selected reactant or product is displayed.

If the "Buffered" option is selected, the solution is treated as being well-buffered and the hydrogen ion concentration is held constant. If the "Unbuffered" option is selected, the hydrogen ion concentration is allowed to vary. No provisions are made for water autodissociation; consequently, the values for very low hydrogen-ion concentrations are not realistic.

The simulation data may be analyzed by constructing a kinetic plot. Three options are available:

C represents concentration in moles L-1 for the selected reactant or product. Cfinal represents the final concentration (at infinite time). The slope and intercept for the line-of-best-fit is displayed.


The objective of this exercise is to determine the rate constant, k, and the parameters a, b, and c by running the reaction under various conditions and analyzing the experimental data.




Applet Name: bromate.Bromate.class
Archive: bromate.jar
Version: 0.1 (May 1998)

The beynon.class applet was written by David N. Blauch (© Copyright 1998-1999 Davidson College).
Conditions of Use

This applet is still under development; additional refinements will be forthcoming. Known problems and the revision history are listed at the bottom of this page. Please send feedback on performance and information on problems to David N. Blauch.


This applet requires a Java-enabled browser that supports Java 1.1. Netscape Navigator 4.04 or later (with the JDK update) and Internet Explorer 4.1 provide such support.


Please let me know how you like this applet. If you encounter any bugs or errors, please provide me with the specific details. I would also appreciate any suggestions for improvements.

David N. Blauch; dablauch@davidson.edu

© Davidson College, 1998-1999