Question

Mention 2 ways by which the reaction of magnesium ribbon and hydrochloric acid can be made to proceed faster?

Answer 1

Increase concentration of acid and increase surface area of the magnesium ribbon.

Explanation:

In this reaction between a metal and an acid, there are many ways to speed up this reaction.

First way is to break down the magnesium ribbon into smaller pieces, so that its surface area increases, and so more acid particles can touch more places of the magnesium ribbon, therefore speeding up the reaction.

The second way is to increase the concentration of the acid. This way, more acid particles are present in a given volume, and so the frequency of collisions between magnesium atoms and hydrochloric acid molecules increase, therefore again speeding up the reaction.

There are also many other ways, such as adding a catalyst if possible and increasing the temperature of the acid.