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Ch.15 - Chemical Kinetics
All textbooksTro 6th EditionCh.15 - Chemical KineticsProblem 112
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Chapter 15, Problem 112

Phosgene (Cl2CO), a poison gas used in World War I, is formed
by the reaction of Cl2 and CO. The proposed mechanism for the
reaction is:
Cl2Δ2 Cl (fast, equilibrium)
Cl + COΔClCO (fast, equilibrium)
ClCO + Cl2¡Cl2CO + Cl (slow)

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Key Concepts

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

Reaction Mechanism

A reaction mechanism is a step-by-step description of the process by which reactants are converted into products. It outlines the individual elementary steps involved, including the formation and consumption of intermediates. Understanding the mechanism helps in predicting the rate of reaction and the effect of various conditions on the reaction's progress.
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Equilibrium

Equilibrium in a chemical reaction refers to the state where the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equal, resulting in constant concentrations of reactants and products. In the context of the proposed mechanism, the fast steps are at equilibrium, meaning they can be represented by equilibrium constants, which influence the overall reaction dynamics.
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Rate-Determining Step

The rate-determining step (RDS) is the slowest step in a reaction mechanism that controls the overall reaction rate. In the provided mechanism, the last step is identified as the slow step, indicating that it has the highest activation energy and thus dictates how quickly the reaction proceeds. Understanding the RDS is crucial for optimizing reaction conditions and improving yields.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

Anthropologists can estimate the age of a bone or other sample of organic matter by its carbon-14 content. The carbon-14 in a living organism is constant until the organism dies, after which carbon- 14 decays with first-order kinetics and a half-life of 5730 years. Suppose a bone from an ancient human contains 19.5% of the C-14 found in living organisms. How old is the bone?

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Textbook Question

Consider the gas-phase reaction: H2(g) + I2(g) → 2 HI(g) The reaction was experimentally determined to be first order in H2 and first order in I2. Consider the proposed mechanisms. Proposed mechanism I: H2(g) + I2(g) → 2 HI(g) Single step Proposed mechanism II: I2(g) Δk1k-12 I(g) Fast H2( g) + 2 I( g) → k22 HI( g) Slow a. Show that both of the proposed mechanisms are valid.

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Textbook Question

Consider the gas-phase reaction: H2(g) + I2(g) → 2 HI(g) The reaction was experimentally determined to be first order in H2 and first order in I2. Consider the proposed mechanisms. Proposed mechanism I: H2(g) + I2(g) → 2 HI(g) Single step Proposed mechanism II: I2(g) Δk1k-12 I(g) Fast H2( g) + 2 I( g) → k22 HI( g) Slow b. What kind of experimental evidence might lead you to favor mechanism II over mechanism I?

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Textbook Question

A certain substance X decomposes. Fifty percent of X remains after 100 minutes. How much X remains after 200 minutes if the reaction order with respect to X is (c) second order?

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Textbook Question

The half-life for radioactive decay (a first-order process) of plutonium- 239 is 24,000 years. How many years does it take for one mole of this radioactive material to decay until just one atom remains?

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Textbook Question

Ethyl chloride vapor decomposes by the first-order reaction: C2H5Cl → C2H4 + HCl The activation energy is 249 kJ/mol, and the frequency factor is 1.6⨉1014 s-1. Find the value of the rate constant at 710 K.

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