Question

The rate law for the reaction between chlorine and nitric oxide, 2NO(g)+Cl₂(g)→2NOCl(g) is Rate = k[NO]₂[Cl₂]₂NO(g)+Cl₂(g)→2NOCl(g) is Rate = k[NO]₂[Cl₂]

What effect will doubling the concentration of NONO have on the initial rate of the reaction
Select one:
a. The initial rate will double.
b. The initial rate in will quadruple.
c. The initial rate will be squared.
d. The initial rate will not be affected.
e. The initial rate will decrease to one half of its original value.

Answer 1

The rate law for the reaction between chlorine and nitric oxide is Rate = k[NO]²[Cl₂], indicating second-order dependence on NO and first-order on Cl₂. Doubling the concentration of NO results in a quadrupled reaction rate, while doubling Cl₂ would double the rate.

Step-by-step explanation:

The rate law for the reaction between chlorine and nitric oxide which produces nitrosyl chloride (NOCl) is given by Rate = k[NO]²[Cl₂]. This indicates that the rate of the reaction depends on the concentration of nitric oxide squared and the concentration of chlorine to the first power. Based on this rate law, if the concentration of NO is doubled while the concentration of Cl₂ remains the same, the reaction rate will increase by a factor of four because the rate is directly proportional to the square of the concentration of NO. Likewise, changing the concentration of Cl₂ will have a direct linear effect on the rate.

For example, if the concentration of [NO] is doubled (and [Cl₂] is kept constant), according to the rate law (Rate = k[NO]²[Cl₂]), the initial rate will quadruple. This is because the increase in [NO] concentration raises the rate by a factor of 2², which equals 4. If the concentration of Cl₂ were doubled instead (and [NO] is kept constant), the rate would only double, following first-order kinetics with respect to Cl₂.