Iodine Clock Reaction Question?

Question

The procedure in my lab asks to dilute pottasium iodate solution (0.2 M) in test tubes, by adding specific volumes of water to the solution (in every test tube place one drop of water more than the previous tube). Then we pour into the test tubes 10ml of (0.001 M) NaHSO3 and wait for a dark bluish colour to appear. My question is, why is it important to add specific volumes of water when diluting pottasium iodate? The purpose of the lab is to figure out the order of reaction of the iodate ions in this experiment.

Answer 1

The rate of the reaction depends on the concentration of reactants. If you want to calculate rates you need to know what the concentrations are.