Question

The decomposition of SO2Cl2 is a first-order reaction. A 1.24 × 10^(-3) M sample of SO2Cl2 drops to 3.1 × 10^(-4) M after 495 min.

a. What is the value of the rate constant, k?
A. 8.77 x 10^(-4) s^(-1)
B. 1.59 x 10^(-3) s^(-1)
C. 2.08 x 10^(-3) s^(-1)
D. 4.41 x 10^(-4) s^(-1)

Answer 1

The value of the rate constant k for the decomposition of SO2Cl2 is approximately 3.10 x 10^(-5) s^(-1).

Step-by-step explanation:

The decomposition of SO2Cl2 is a first-order reaction, which means that the rate of the reaction is directly proportional to the concentration of SO2Cl2. We can use the integrated rate law for a first-order reaction, which is ln[SO2Cl2] = -kt + ln[SO2Cl2]0. Given that the concentration drops from 1.24 × 10^(-3) M to 3.1 × 10^(-4) M after 495 min, we can plug in the values to solve for the rate constant, k.

ln[SO2Cl2]/[SO2Cl2]0 = -kt

-0.9226 = -k(495)

k ≈ 1.86 × 10^(-3) min^(-1)

To convert from minutes to seconds, we divide by 60:

k ≈ 3.10 × 10^(-5) s^(-1)