CHEM 154 PROBLEM SET 1: Due on October 4, 2018 Thursday

A complete solution is required. Graph/ plot/ and provide complete equation for all necessary kinetic
problems.

1. A second -order reaction of the type A + 2B P was carried out in a solution that was initially 0.075
mol dm-3 in A and 0.030 mol dm-3 in B. After 1.0 h the concentration of A had fallen to 0.045 mol dm-3. (a)
Calculate the rate constant. (b) What is the half-life of the reactants (A and B)?

2. Methyl acetate, CH3COOCH3 , reacts in basic solution to give acetate ion, CH3COO-,
and methanol, CH3OH.
CH3COOCH3(aq) + OH-(aq) CH3COO-(aq) + CH3OH(aq)

The overall order of reaction was determined by starting with methyl acetate, CH3COOCH3
and hydroxide ion, OH-, at the same concentrations, so [CH3COOCH3] = [OH-] = x. Then

Rate = k [CH3COOCH3]m[OH-]n =k xm+n

Determine the overall order and the value of the rate constant by plotting data assuming
first- and then second-order kinetics.

Time (min) [CH3COOCH3]

0.00 0.01000
3.00 0.00740
4.00 0.00683
5.00 0.00634

3. The decomposition of sulfuryl chloride, SO2Cl2 is described by the following

equations:
SO2Cl2(g) ----------> SO2(g) + Cl2(g)
Rate = k [SO2Cl2]

At 320oC, the rate constant k has the value 2.20 x 10-5 s-1. If the reaction begins with SO2Cl2 at an initial
concentration of 1.00 x 10-4 mol L-1, how long will it take for the SO2Cl2 concentration to be reduced to
2.50 x 10-5 mol L-1?

4. The decomposition of nitrous oxide at 565oC

2 N2O 2 N2 + O 2

is second order in N2O with a rate constant of 1.10 x 10-3 M-1s-1. If the reaction is initiated with [N2O]
equal to 0.108 M, what will its concentration be after 1250 s have elapsed?

5. The data below apply to the formation of urea from ammonium cyanate. Initially, 22.9 g of ammonium
cyanate was dissolved in in enough water to prepare 1.00 dm3 of solution. Determine the order of the
reaction, the rate constant, and the mass of ammonium cyanate left after 300 min.

NH4CNO NH2CONH2
t/min 0 20.0 50.0 65.0 150
m(urea)/g 0 7.0 12.1 13.8 17.7

6. The thermal decomposition of an organic nitrile produced the following data:

t/(103s) 0 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 
[nitrile]/(mol 1.10 0.86 0.67 0.52 0.41 0.32 0.25 0
dm-3)

Determine the order of the reaction and the rate constant.