Lab-Temperature and
Chemical Weathering
AKA-”Watching Alka-Seltzer
dissolve to simulate chemical
weathering.”
Data Table A
NO UNITS IN THE COLUMNS! (That is
standard for science data tables when
the unit is as the top of the column.)
 All temperatures should be to the
nearest half degree.
 All times should be to the nearest whole
second.
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Data Table B
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Did you follow the directions?
Beaker 1 data should be the same for each
table (A and B)
For the temperatures-10 added to Beaker 1 to
get Beaker 2, that number is increased by 10
to get Beaker 3, and so on.
For the times-Beaker 1 gets halved to get
Beaker 2, Beaker 2 gets halved to get Beaker
3 and so on. (Did you round to the whole
second?)
The Graph
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Do you have the title?
Do you have a label with a unit on each axis?
Is temperature on the x axis and time on the
y axis?
Did you use small data points surrounded by
a circle, square, triangle or diamond?
Do you have a key since you had 2 data
plots?
Are the plots smooth curves? Labeled?
The Questions
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1a. Beaker 1 was the beaker in which the
reaction occurred most slowly. Why?
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1b. Beaker 5 was the beaker in which the
reaction occurred most quickly. Why?
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1c. The relationship shown is that as
temperature increases the rate of reaction
increases. Why?
Questions continued…
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2. Based on observations, as
temperature increases it is likely that
chemical weathering increases. Why?
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3. The temperatures are possible but
maybe not probable. What are the
temperatures in F? Think about the
highs and lows we have had on
Earthweek since we began charting.
Questions continued…
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4a. A limestone should weather faster in
Rio de Janeiro because the climate is
hotter.
 4b. More weathering would lead to more
soil production so Rio would have thicker
soil.
 5. The climate in Barrow is cold and dry,
which would slow down chemical reactions
and lead to slower weathering rates.
Questions continued…
6a. The rate of reaction would have
increased if you ground the tablet into
powder. This is because grinding the
tablet increases the surface area
making more surfaces available for the
chemical reaction.
 6b.The curve would be below the actual
data curve because the reaction would
have occurred in less time.
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Questions continued…
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7a. The line for theoretical data is below the
line for actual data.
7b.The difference in the plotting of the lines
shows that the observed reaction was slower.
7c. One thing that would have made the actual
results more like the theoretical results would
be to grind the tablet.
Were there sources of error in the experiment?