Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
First-Order Reactions
First-order reactions are chemical reactions where the rate is directly proportional to the concentration of one reactant. In this case, the decomposition of N2O5 follows first-order kinetics, meaning that as the concentration of N2O5 decreases, the rate of reaction also decreases. The rate constant (k) is a crucial parameter that quantifies this relationship and is given in units of s-1.
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Rate of Reaction and Heat Absorption
The rate of a chemical reaction can be related to the heat absorbed or released during the reaction. For exothermic reactions, heat is released, while for endothermic reactions, heat is absorbed. In this question, calculating the initial rate at which the reaction mixture absorbs heat involves understanding the enthalpy change of the reaction and how it correlates with the rate of reaction.
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Heat of Reaction
The heat of reaction, or enthalpy change (ΔH), is the amount of heat absorbed or released during a chemical reaction at constant pressure. It is essential for determining how much heat is involved in the decomposition of N2O5. Since the problem states that the heat of the reaction is independent of temperature, this simplifies calculations, allowing the use of standard values from reference tables to find the heat absorbed per mole of reactant.
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