Question

I don't know how to approach this question? I need help

Answer 1

`sf("d".)` `"Rate" = k["SO"_2]["H"_2]`

Explanation:

The question is asking for the order of the reaction about each reactant given data from the table supplies the following correlations:

• Doubling `["SO"_2]` while holding `["H"_2]` constant doubles `"Rate"`;
• Holding `["H"_2]` constant while doubling `["SO"_2]` doubles `"Rate"`.

Where `["SO"_2]` and `["H"_2]` represent the concentration of the two respective species, as your chemistry teacher has likely mentioned during classes.

Now back to the question: the key is to find an exponential relationship that properly satisfies all (or both, as in this question) arithmetic correlations the question has implied. For this particular case:

• `1^color(navy)(1) xx 1^color(navy)(1) = 1`
• `2^color(navy)(1) xx 1^color(navy)(1) = 2`
• `2^color(navy)(1) xx 2^color(navy)(1) = 4`

The exponent `color(navy)(1)` is typically omitted in many expressions. Thus the rate law for this reaction given these data would be

`"Rate" = k["SO"_2]^color(navy)(1) ["H"_2]^color(navy)(1)`

... where `k` the rate constant unique to this reaction and dependent on temperature.

As a side note, the cardinal number that corresponds to the exponent of a particular reactant identifies the order of that species in the reaction, for instance

• A reaction is of "zero" order about a reactant with exponent `0` omitted (or in other words included as part of the constant `k`) in the rate law expression
• A reaction is of "first" order about a reactant with exponent `1`, as in this case for both reactants
• A reaction is of "second" order about a reactant with exponent `2`

Reactions of orders higher than two are rare given the unlikelihood for three microscopic particles to collide simultaneously.