Skip to main content
Ch.14 - Chemical Kinetics
Chapter 14, Problem 89

Dinitrogen pentoxide decomposes in the gas phase to form nitrogen dioxide and oxygen gas. The reaction is first order in dinitrogen pentoxide and has a half-life of 2.81 h at 25 °C. If a 1.5-L reaction vessel initially contains 745 torr of N2O5 at 25 °C, what partial pressure of O2 is present in the vessel after 215 minutes?

Verified step by step guidance
1
Identify the reaction: \( 2 \text{N}_2\text{O}_5 (g) \rightarrow 4 \text{NO}_2 (g) + \text{O}_2 (g) \).
Since the reaction is first order, use the first-order kinetics equation: \( [A] = [A]_0 e^{-kt} \), where \( k \) is the rate constant.
Calculate the rate constant \( k \) using the half-life formula for first-order reactions: \( t_{1/2} = \frac{0.693}{k} \).
Convert the time from minutes to hours to match the half-life units: \( 215 \text{ minutes} = 3.583 \text{ hours} \).
Use the integrated rate law to find the remaining \( \text{N}_2\text{O}_5 \) and then determine the amount of \( \text{O}_2 \) produced, considering the stoichiometry of the reaction.

Verified Solution

Video duration:
0m:0s
This video solution was recommended by our tutors as helpful for the problem above.
Was this helpful?

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 reactions where the rate is directly proportional to the concentration of one reactant. In this case, the decomposition of dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) follows first-order kinetics, meaning that as N2O5 is consumed, the rate of reaction decreases. The half-life of a first-order reaction is constant and can be used to determine the concentration of reactants over time.
Recommended video:
Guided course
02:29
First-Order Reactions

Half-Life

The half-life of a reaction is the time required for the concentration of a reactant to decrease to half of its initial value. For first-order reactions, the half-life is independent of the initial concentration. In this problem, the half-life of 2.81 hours allows us to calculate how much N2O5 remains after a specific time, which is crucial for determining the amount of products formed, including oxygen gas (O2).
Recommended video:
Guided course
02:17
Zero-Order Half-life

Partial Pressure

Partial pressure is the pressure exerted by a single component of a gas mixture. According to Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures, the total pressure of a gas mixture is the sum of the partial pressures of its individual gases. In this scenario, calculating the partial pressure of O2 produced from the decomposition of N2O5 involves understanding the stoichiometry of the reaction and the initial conditions of the system.
Recommended video:
Guided course
00:48
Partial Pressure Calculation
Related Practice
Textbook Question

Consider the reaction: 2 O3(g) → 3 O2( g) The rate law for this reaction is: Rate = k [O3]2 [O2] Suppose that a 1.0-L reaction vessel initially contains 1.0 mol of O3 and 1.0 mol of O2. What fraction of the O3 will have reacted when the rate falls to one-half of its initial value?

2049
views
Open Question
At 700 K, acetaldehyde decomposes in the gas phase to methane and carbon monoxide. The reaction is: CH3CHO(g) → CH4(g) + CO(g). A sample of CH3CHO is heated to 700 K and the pressure is measured as 0.22 atm before any reaction takes place. The kinetics of the reaction are followed by measurements of total pressure and these data are obtained: t (s) 0 1000 3000 7000; PTotal (atm) 0.22 0.24 0.27 0.31. Find the rate law, the rate constant, and the total pressure after 2.00 × 10^4 s.
Open Question
At 400 K, oxalic acid decomposes according to the reaction: H2C2O4(g) → CO2(g) + HCOOH(g). In three separate experiments, the initial pressure of oxalic acid and the final total pressure after 20,000 seconds are measured. Experiment: 1) PH2C2O4 at t = 0: 65.8, PTotal at t = 20,000 s: 94.6; 2) PH2C2O4 at t = 0: 92.1, PTotal at t = 20,000 s: 132; 3) PH2C2O4 at t = 0: 111, PTotal at t = 20,000 s: 160. Find the rate law of the reaction and its rate constant.
Textbook Question

Iodine atoms combine to form I2 in liquid hexane solvent with a rate constant of 1.5⨉1010 L/mols. The reaction is second order in I. Since the reaction occurs so quickly, the only way to study the reaction is to create iodine atoms almost instantaneously, usually by photochemical decomposition of I2. Suppose a flash of light creates an initial [I] concentration of 0.0100 M. How long will it take for 95% of the newly created iodine atoms to recombine to form I2?

2152
views
Open Question
Is the question asking for the mass of sucrose hydrolyzed when 2.55 L of a 0.150 M sucrose solution is allowed to react for 195 minutes, given that the hydrolysis of sucrose (C12H22O11) into glucose and fructose in acidic water has a rate constant of 1.8 * 10^-4 s^-1 at 25 °C and the reaction is first order in sucrose?
Open Question
The reaction AB(aq) → A(g) + B(g) is second order in AB and has a rate constant of 0.0118 M^-1 s^-1 at 25.0 °C. A reaction vessel initially contains 250.0 mL of 0.100 M AB that is allowed to react to form the gaseous product. The product is collected over water at 25.0 °C. How much time is required to produce 200.0 mL of the products at a barometric pressure of 755.1 mmHg? (The vapor pressure of water at this temperature is 23.8 mmHg.)