Final answer:
The question involves the use of integrated rate laws to find the rate constant of a reaction and determine the time at which a zero-order reaction will reach a certain concentration. Graphical methods can determine the reaction order, and equations connect concentrations and time to the rate constant for first and zero-order reactions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question relates to the determination of the rate constant (k) for a chemical reaction using the integrated rate laws for first-order reactions. Integrated rate laws enable us to calculate the rate constant and reaction order by analyzing the concentration of reactants over time. The student needs to graphically determine the order and rate constant of the reaction from the given data set.
For a first-order reaction, the rate constant k is determined using the equation ln[A]t = -kt + ln[A]0, where [A]t is the concentration at time t, [A]0 is the initial concentration, and t is the time.
For zero-order reactions, the concentration decreases linearly over time. The rate constant k can be found by using the equation [A]t = -kt + [A]0. The student is asked to use this relation to predict the time at which the concentration of ammonia will reach a certain value.
To graphically determine the order of the reaction for SO2Cl2, you can plot concentration versus time and look for linear, inverse, or half-life trends which correspond to zeroth, first, or second-order reactions, respectively. Once the order is determined, appropriate integrated rate laws can be used to calculate the rate constant.
Check Your Learning
For the zero-order reaction problem, if we have an initial concentration of 0.0028 mol L-1 decreasing linearly with time to 0.0001 mol L-1 over 1000 s, you can set up the linear equation and solve for time to determine when the concentration will hit 0.0001 mol L-1.