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Ch.14 - Chemical Kinetics
Chapter 14, Problem 43a

As described in Exercise 14.41, the decomposition of sulfuryl chloride (SO2Cl2) is a first-order process. The rate constant for the decomposition at 660 K is 4.5 × 10-2 s-1. (a) If we begin with an initial SO2Cl2 pressure of 450 torr, what is the partial pressure of this substance after 60 s?

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

First-Order Reactions

First-order reactions are chemical processes where the rate of reaction is directly proportional to the concentration of one reactant. This means that as the concentration decreases, the rate of reaction also decreases. The mathematical representation involves a natural logarithm, allowing for the calculation of concentration or pressure over time using the equation: ln([A]₀/[A]) = kt, where [A]₀ is the initial concentration, [A] is the concentration at time t, k is the rate constant, and t is time.
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Rate Constant (k)

The rate constant (k) is a proportionality factor in the rate law of a chemical reaction, reflecting the speed of the reaction at a given temperature. For first-order reactions, k has units of s⁻¹, indicating how quickly the reactant is consumed. The value of k can vary with temperature, and it is crucial for calculating the concentration or pressure of reactants over time in kinetic studies.
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Partial Pressure

Partial pressure is the pressure exerted by a single component of a gas mixture. In the context of a reaction, it helps in understanding how the concentration of a reactant changes over time. For gases, the partial pressure can be related to the number of moles of the gas and the volume of the container, following Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures, which states that the total pressure is the sum of the partial pressures of each gas in the mixture.
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