Chemistry: A Molecular Approach (3rd Edition)

Published by Prentice Hall
ISBN 10: 0321809246
ISBN 13: 978-0-32180-924-7

Chapter 13 - Sections 13.1-13.7 - Exercises - Problems by Topic - Page 638: 26a

Answer

$Rate=-\frac{1}{2}\frac{\Delta[N_{2}O]}{\Delta t}=\frac{1}{2}\frac{\Delta[N_{2}]}{\Delta t}=\frac{\Delta[O_{2}]}{\Delta t}$

Work Step by Step

$\Delta$ represents change so ${\Delta t}$ means change in time. Rate is equal to the change in concentration over the change in time so for $O_{2}$ this is simply $\frac{\Delta[O_{2}]}{\Delta t}$. For $N_{2}O$ and $N_{2}$ the concentration changes twice as fast as that of $O_{2}$ because two moles of $N_{2}O$ decompse to make two moles of $N_{2}$ and only one mole of $O_{2}$. To fix this we multiply both by $\frac{1}{2}$. Also, $[N_{2}O]$ decreases as time passes so me have to multiply that expression by $-1$ to get the correct rate.
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