Question

For the reaction $A\to$ products, the following data is given for a particular run time

time (imn)	$0$	$5$	$15$	$35$
$\frac{1}{\left[A\right]}\left(M^{-1}\right)$	$1$	$2$	$4$	$8$

Determine the order of the reaction.

Answer 1

For time t=0, conc [A]=1

For time t=5, conc [A]=0.5

For time t=15, conc [A]=0.25

For time t=35, conc [A]=0.125

It is seen that the concentration is decreasing at an increasingly faster rate and that this decrease is not linear.

Therefore it can be concluded that the given reaction is of order 2.