Ellie started her reaction between the KMnO4 and malonic acid by first heating the two solutions in the hot water bath. She then removed the test tubes from the water bath and poured the KMnO4 into the 75-ml test tube containing the malonic acid. She mixed the solution, placed it back into the water bath, then started the timer. For the data collected at 65 °C, indicate how the process explained above impacts the reaction time.
a. The time recorded in the lab notebook is the true reaction time because the reaction only starts after the timer is started
b. The time recorded in the lab notebook is longer than the true reaction time because the reaction starts the moment the two solutions were mixed
c. The time recorded in the lab notebook is the true reaction time because the reaction only starts after the mixture is placed back into the hot water bath
d. The time recorded in the lab notebook is shorter than the true reaction time because the reaction starts the moment the two solutions were mixed