
Temperature, Acidity, and Tablet Dissolving Speed
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What makes a fizzing tablet dissolve faster -- warmer liquid or a more acidic one? You drop Alka-Seltzer tablets into water and into hydrochloric acid at four temperatures: 15, 25, 35, and 45 degrees Celsius. A stopwatch tracks how many seconds each tablet takes to fully dissolve.
Higher temperatures speed up dissolving in both liquids. The acid dissolves the tablet faster than water at every temperature tested.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that the Alka-Seltzer antacid tablet will dissolve most quickly in a hydrochloric acid solution and at the highest temperature.
Method & Materials
You will be testing the time it takes for Alka-Seltzer tablets to dissolve in different solutions and temperatures. You will measure the time it takes for the tablets to dissolve and compare the results.
You will need 8 Alka-Seltzer tablets, 8 beakers, 1 large beaker, 1 bottle of ice water, 1 pack of ice cubes, 800ml of Hydrochloric acid at pH 2, 1 hot plate, 1 thermometer, pH paper, 1 measuring cylinder, and 1 stopwatch.
Results
The results showed that as the temperature of the solution increased, the Alka-Seltzer tablet dissolved more quickly. The tablet also dissolved more quickly in acidic solutions, compared to water.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it shows how temperature and acidity can affect the rate of dissolution of a tablet.
Also Consider
Consider repeating the science project by using other tablets like vitamin C. You could also repeat the experiment using an acidic solution to observe how long it takes the acidity to be neutralized by the antacid tablet.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related video
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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