CHEMICAL KINETICS F.Y.B.

Sc
I) DEFINITIONS:

1) Chemical kinetics: It is a branch in physical chemistry which deals with the study of rate
of a chemical reaction , the factor affecting their rates and the mechanism by which a
chemical reaction occurs.
2)Rate of reaction: It is defined as the change in concentration of the reactant or product
per unit time.
3) Average rate: It is defined as the change in concentration of a reactant or product divided
by the time interval over which the change occurs.

4)Instantaneous rate: It is defined as the rate of a reaction at a specific instant.

5)Rate law: It is defined as an experimentally determined equation that expresses the rate of
chemical reaction in terms of molar concentration of the reactants.

6)Order of a reaction:It is the sum of the exponents to which the concentration terms in the
rate law are raised.

7)Molecularity of a reaction: It is defined as the number of reacting species (atoms, ions

or molecules)involved in an elementary reaction.

8)Rate constant or the specific reaction rate:It is defined as the rate of the reaction when
the concentration of the reactant is unity.
9) Zero order reactions: The chemical reaction in which the rate of the reaction is
independent of the concentration of the reactants and remains constant throughout the
course of the reaction are called zero order reactions.
10)First order reaction:The reactions in which the rate of reaction depends on the
concentration of only one reactant are called first order reactions.
11)Pseudofirst order reactions or Pseudo unimolecular reactions: The chemical
reactions that have higher order true rate law but are found to behave as first order called
pseudomolecular or pseudofirst order reaction.
12)Half life period: The time required for a chemical reaction to reduce the original
concentration of the reactant to half of its initial value is called half life period.
13)Integtraed rate law:The equations which are obtained by integrating the differential rate
laws and which give a direct relationship between the concentration of the reactants and time
are called integrated rate laws.

II) DISTINGUISH BETWEEN:

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 1) Distinguish between order and molecularity of a reaction.

Ans:
Sr. Order of a reaction Sr. Molecularity of a reaction
No. No
1 It is an experimental determined quantity 1 It is a theoretical value i.e. assigned
parameter.

2 It may be a fraction or a whole number or 2 It is always a whole number and is

even zero. never zero.

3 It may change with experimental 3 It does not change with experimental

conditions. conditions

4 It is the property of both elementary and 4 It is the property of only elementary

complex reactions. reactions and has no meaning for
complex reactions.

5 It is the sum of the exponents to which 5 It is defined as the number of

the concentration terms in the rate law molecules or ions taking part in an
are raised. elementary reaction.

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III) DERIVATIONS:

1) Derive an expression for rate constant of a first order reaction.

Ans: Consider the simple first order reaction as shown below:

A products

The differential rate equation for the above reaction is given by

i.e.- d[A] = k [A] ---------------------I

dt

where .- d[A] /dt = Rate of reaction at time t

[A] = Concentration of reactant A

If [A]0 = initial concentration of the reactant at time t =0

and [A]t = concentration of A after time t=t
then integrating equation I within the limits [A]=[A]0 at t= 0 and [A]=[A]t at t=t, we get
[A]t t
d[A] = -k dt
[A]
[A]0 0

[A]t t
ln[A] = -k [t]
0
[A]0

ln[A]0 -- ln[A]t = -k(t-0)

ln[A]t = - k.t
[A]0

Therefore k. t = ln[A]0
[A]t

i.e. k = 1 ln[A]0 ----------------II

t [A]t

Converting ln to log10, equation II is written as

i.e. k = 2.303 log10 [A]0 ----------------- III

t [A]t
Equation III is the expression for rate constant of first order reaction.It can be written in two
alternative forms as follows:
i) ln[A]t = -k.t
[A]0
Taking antilogs on both sides, we get
[A]t = e- kt
[A]0

Therefore [A]t = [A]0 e-kt

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ii) If ‘a’ is the initial concentrations of reactant A in moles dm-3 and x is the amount of
reactant getting converted to products in time t, then the amount left after time t is (a-x)

Substituting [A]0 =a and [A]t =(a-x) in equation III, we get

k = 2.303 log10 a
t a-x

2)Show that the half life period of a first order reaction is independent of its initial
concentration.
Ans: Half life period: The time needed for the reactant concentration to fall to one half of its
initial value is called half life period.
Expression: The rate constant of the first reaction is given by

k = 2.303 log10 [A]0

t [A]t
where [A]0 = initial concentration of the reactants.
[A]t = concentration after time t.
k = rate constant of the reaction.
At half life, at t = t1/2 , [A]t = [A]0/2

Hence k = 2.303 log [A]0

t1/2 [A]0/2

= 2.303 log10 2
t1/2

= 2.303 X 0.3010
t1/2

= 0.693
t1/2

Therefore t1/2 = 0.693

k
The half life period of the reaction is independent of the initial conc. of the reactants.
For a reaction of nth order, t1/2 α 1 / an-1

3) Derive an expression for rate constant for a second order reaction with equal
concentrations.
Ans: Consider the following reaction of second order

A + B products
For this reaction
Rate of reaction = k[A][B] --------------------I

i.e dx = k[A][B]
dt
Let a be the initial concentration in moles dm-3 each of reactant A and B.

Let x moles dm-3 of each of the reactants A and B react in time t.

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Therefore after time t,
[A] = [B] = (a-x) moles dm-3 ----------------II
Substituting II in I, we get

dx = k(a-x)(a-x) = k(a-x)2 -----------------III

dt

dx = k.dt ------------------IV
(a-x)2

Integrating equation IV, we get

dx = k.dt
(a-x)2

1 = k.t + c where c is the constant of integration ----------V

(a-x)

To find c, we put x= 0 when t= 0 (at the start of the reaction)

1 =c --------------VI
a

Substituting equation VI in V, we get

1 = k.t + 1
a-x a

1 - 1 =kt
a-x a

a-(a-x) = k.t
a(a-x)

Therefore k = 1. x
at (a-x)

5)Derive an expression for half life of a second order reaction with equal concentration
of reactants.
Ans: The time required for a chemical reaction to reduce the original concentration of the
reactant to half of its initial value is called half life period.

For a second order reaction with equal concentration, the expression for rate constant is
given by

k=1 x
at a-x

When t =t1/2 , x =a/2

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Therefore

k = 1 . a/2
a.t1/2 a- a/2

k= 1
a. t1/2

Therefore
t1/2 = 1/a.k

Thus for a second order reaction, the half life is inversely proportional to its initial
concentration.

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SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS:
1) Explain the term ‘rate law’ with suitable example.
Ans: Rate law: It is defined as an experimentally determined equation that expresses the
rate of a chemical reaction in terms of molar concentration of the reactants.
Explanation:
Consider a reaction
aA + bB products

By law of mass action

Rate α [A]a [B]b

= k [A]a [B]b --------------------I

In equation I , the rate of reaction is expressed in terms of product of molar concentration of

reactants A and B raised to powers a and b of concentration of reactants A and B
respectively.But these powers may or may not be same as the stoichiometric coefficient of
the reactants in the balanced chemical equation
e.g
Consider a reaction

2N2O5 (g) 4NO2 (g) + O2(g)

By law of mass action,

Rate of reaction = k[N2O5 ]2

But under the experimental conditions, the observed rate is given by

Rate of reaction = k[N2O5] ---------------------II

Equation II is called rate law equation

For single step reactions, law of mass action and rate law expression are same. However for
multistep complex reactions, they differ.

Examples of rate law: Rate law

i) H2 + I2 2HI Rate = k[H2] [I2]

ii) 2N2O 2N2 + O2 Rate = k[N2O]

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2) Explain the term order of a reaction.
Ans :
Order of a reaction:
The sum of the exponents to which the concentration terms in the rate law are raised is
called overall order of the reaction while the exponent to which the concentration of that
reactant in the rate law is raised is called partial order of that reactant.

Consider the reaction

aA + bB products

If the rate law expression for the above reaction is

Rate =k[A]a [B]b

then the order of the reaction is

a) a with respect to reactant A

b) b with respect to reactant B
and the overall order of the reaction is (a + b).

Eg Consider the following reaction

2N2O5 4NO2(g) + O2(g)

The rate law expression for the above reaction is

Rate = k[N2O5]

The power of [N2O5] is one. Hence order of the reaction is one though the coefficient of the
reaction is 2.

Thus it can be concluded that

i) order is an experimental determined quantity

ii) order for a reaction may be zero, whole number or a fraction.

iii) order of the re reaction has no relation with the coefficient of the reactant molecules in the
rate equation.

3) Explain the term ‘molecularity’ of a reaction.

Ans: It is defined as the number of reacting species (atoms, ions or molecules)involved in
each step of a chemical reaction(elementary reaction)

On the basis of molecularity, chemical reactions are of following types:

i)Unimolecular reactions: In this type, only one molecule is involved in the

reaction.
Eg PCl5 PCl3 + Cl2

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ii)Bimolecular reaction: It is a reaction which involves two molecules of the
reactant.
Eg. H2(g) + Br2(g) 2HBr(g)

iii)Termolecular reaction: It is a reaction in which three molecules of the

reactant are involved in the reaction.

2SO2(g) + O2(g) 2SO3(g)

Molecularity of four is not known because collision of four particles in a single step is not a
favorable situation.
i) Molecularity is always a whole number.
ii) It is a theoretical value and is applied to a single step reactions(elementary reactions).

4)Define rate constant or specific reaction rate. Give its unit in SI system.
Ans:The rate constant of the reaction or the specific reaction rate is defined as the rate of the
reaction when the concentration of the reactant is unity.

Unit: (moles dm-3)1-n.sec-1.

Derivation: It is derived as follows:

Consider a reaction of nth order.The rate law expression for nth order reaction is given by
Rate = k[A]n

(moles dm-3) = k [molesdm-3]n

sec
Therefore, k = molesdm-3 . 1
[molesdm-3]n sec.

= (moles dm-3)1-n .sec-1

5) Plot a graph of i) conc.vs time. ii) rate of reaction vs concentration for a zero order
reaction.
Ans:

[A]t Slope= -k
Rate

time t [A]t

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6) What are first order reactions? Give suitable examples.
Ans: The reactions in which the rate of reaction depends upon the concentration of only one
reactant are called first order reactions.
Explanation: Consider a reaction
A Products

Rate of reaction α [A]

= k [A]1 ------------- I

where k is the rate constant of the reaction.

In equation I , power of [A] is one therefore it represents first order reaction.

Examples:

i) Decomposition of nitrogen pentoxide

2N2O5 (g) 4NO2 (g) + O2(g)

Rate = k[N2O5] . the power of [N2O5] .is one therefore order is one.

ii) Decomposition of ammonium nitrite:

NH4NO2 N2(g) + 2H2O(l0

Rate = k[NH4NO2] , the power of [NH4NO2] is one therefore order is one.

iii) Decomposition of hydrogen peroxide:

Pt
2H2O2(l) 2H2O(l) + O2(g)

Rate = k[H2O2] . the power of [H2O2] is one therefore order is one.

iv) Decomposition of phosphorous pentachloride:

PCl5 (g) PCl3 (g) + Cl2(g)

Rate = k[PCl5] . the power of [PCl5] is one therefore order is one.

v) Conversion of cyclopropane to propene

CH2
CH3---CH=CH2
H2C CH2

Cyclopropane propylene
Rate = k[C3H6]
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7) Give the characteristics of first order reactions.
Ans:

i) The rate of reaction depends on the concentration of only one reactant.

ii) The expression for the rate constant is given by

k= 2.303 log [A]0
t [A]t
where [A]0 = initial concentration of the reactant.
[A]t = amount left after time t.
iii)The half life period of a first order reaction is independent of the initial
concentration of the reactants.

iv) A graph of log[A]t vs time for a first order reaction is a straight line with slope = -k
2.303

v) A plot of rate of first order reaction with concentration of a reactant gives a straight line
passing through origin with slope = k.

8)Plot the graphs of the following variables in case of first order reaction and write
the expression for slope from each graph.
i) rate of reaction vs concentration of reactant

ii) concentration of reactant vs time.

iii) log[A]t vs time.

iv) log[A]0 vs time

[A]t

Ans: i) Graph of rate of reaction vs concentration of reactants.

Slope = k
Rate

Slope=k

[A]t

ii)Graph of concentration of reactants vs time.

Slope = concentration
time

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iii)Graph of log[A]t vs time.

Slope= -k/2.303
Log[A]t

Time(t)

iv) Graph of log[A]0 vs time

[A]t

Log[A]0
[A]t Slope = k
2.303

Time(t)

9)Explain the term ‘pseudomolecular or pseudofirst order reaction with a suitable

example.
Ans:Consider a reaction
A + B products

The rate law expression for the above reaction is given by

Rate = k[A] [B]

If concentration of B is taken in excess , then the rate law expression becomes

Rate = k[A]
Thus the observed rate depends on the concentration of A only and is independent of
concentration of B. Though two molecules A and B are involved in the reaction, the reaction
is first order w.r.t. A and zero order w.r.t. B. Hence overall order of the reaction is one .Such
reactions are called pseudomolecular reactions.

Definition of pseudomolecular reaction:The chemical reactions which have higher order

true rate law but are found to behave as first order are called pseudomolecular or pseudofirst
order reaction.
Examples of psudomolecular reaction or pseudofirst order reaction:
i)Hydrolysis of methyl acetate:

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 CH3COOCH3 + H2O dil.HCl CH3COOH + CH3OH

The molecularity of this reaction is 2 .However , when water is taken in excess, the rate of the
reaction is found to change with change in concentration of methyl acetate only. Hence this
reaction is a pseudounimolecular reaction.
Rate = k[CH3COOCH3]
The reaction is carried out by mixing a small volume of methyl acetate with excess of dil HCl.
A known volume of the reaction mixture is pipetted out at definite time intervals in a conical
flask containing few ice pieces and phenolphthalein as indicator and titrated against standard
NaOH solution.The amount of acetic acid formed during the hydrolysis is a measure of ester
hydrolysed.
Let T0 be the titre reading at the start of the reaction. i.e on mixing the solutions.

Let Tt be the titre reading at different time intervals.

Therefore , x= Tt – T0 gives the amount of ester hydrolysed at time t

Let T∞ = titre reading for complete hydrolysis of ester which corresponds to

HCl present and total amount of acetic acid produced.

Therefore the total amount of ester hydrolysed is given by

a = T∞ - T0

The expression for rate constant for first order reaction is given by

k= 2.303 log a
t a-x

Here a= T∞ - T0 and a-x =(T∞ - T0) – (Tt – T0) = T∞ - Tt

k = 2.303 log T∞ - T0
t T∞ - Tt

ii) Inversion of cane sugar:

C12H22O11 + H2O dil.HCl C6H12 O6 + C6H12 O6

Cane sugar glucose fructose

Rate = k[C12H22O11] [H2O]

If water is taken in excess, then

Rate = k[C12H22O11]

The molecularity of the reaction is 2 but the order of the reaction is one. Hence it is a
pseudofirst order reaction.

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10 )Describe the Isolation method of determination of rate law and order of the reaction.

Ans:This method is applicable to chemical reactions with more than two reactants.In this method,
the concentration of all the reactants except one(isolated) are taken in large excess so that the
rate of the reaction only will depend upon the concentration of the isolated reactant This rate is
experimentally determined. The experiment is repeated by isolating one of the reactants each time
and determine the rate law with respect to the isolated species.From all the experiments the
overall order and rate of the reaction is determined.
Example
Consider the following reaction

aA + bB Products

The rate law equation is

Rate = k[A]x[B]y

If B is taken in excess then A becomes isolated.The initial conc. of B will remain constant through
out the experiment i..e. [B]0 = constant.Therefore te rate law becomes

Rate =k[A]x[B]0y = k1[A]x where k1 =k[B]0

Taking log on both sides we get

log[Rate] = log k1 + x log[A]

By plotting a graph of log(rate) vs log[A], a straight line is obtained with slope = x.is obtained.Thus
we get the value of x from this experiment.

In another experiment, If A is taken in excess, then [A]0 = initial concentration of A remains

constant during the course of the reaction.The rate law then becomes

Rate =k[A]0x[B]y = k11[B]y where k11 = k[A]0x

Taking log on both sides we get

log[Rate] = log k11 + y log[B]

By plotting a graph of log(rate) vs log[B], a straight line is obtained with slope = y is obtained.Thus
we get the value of y from this experiment.

Thus by knowing the value of x and y, the order of the reaction(x + y) and the rate law can be
determined.

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11)Describe the half life method of determination of order of the reaction.
Ans:The time taken for a reaction to reduce the initial concentration of the reactant to half of its
initial value is called half life of a reaction.
If ‘a’ is the initial concentration of the reactant and t1/2 is the half life time, then the relation between
a and t1/2 is given by
t1/2 α 1 -----------------------------I
an-1
If a1 and a2 are the initial concentration of the reactants at half times (t1/2)1 and (t1/2)2
respectively, then from equation I we get

(t1/2)1 α 1 ---------------------------II
a1 n-1
and
(t1/2)2 α 1 ---------------------------------III
a2 n-1
Dividing II by III, we get

(t1/2)1 = a2 n-1 ------------------------------IV

(t1/2)2 a1 n-1

Taking log on both sides,we get

log (t1/2)1 = log a2 n-1
(t1/2)2 a1 n-1

= n-1 log a2/a1

Therefore, n-1 = log((t1/2)1) – log((t1/2)2
log a2 - log a1
Hence
n= 1 + log((t1/2)1) – log((t1/2)2
log a2 - log a1
By plotting a graph of x verses t for different initial concentrations of a1 and a2, the half life(t1/2)1
and (t1/2)2 are determined by dividing the initial concentrations a1 and a2 by 2
i.e x1 = a1 / 2 and x2 = a2/2 Initial conc= a1

x x1 =a1/2 Initial cons =a2

x2 = a2/2

(t1/2)1 (t1/2)2 time

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 12) Describe the graphical method of determination of order of the reaction.
Ans: In this method, the concentration of the reactants is determined at different
time intervals by a suitable method. A graph of concentration vs time is then
plotted. The rate of the reaction at different time interval is obtained by drawing
tangents to the curve and subsequently calculating the slopes of the tangents.The
order of the reaction is then determined by plotting a graph of rate of the reaction vs
conc. as shown below;

i) Rate of reaction vs (conc.)1

ii) Rate of reaction vs (conc.)2

Or in general,
Rate of reaction α (conc.)n
where n = 1, 2, 3 etc.

i)If the rate of the reaction remains constant as observed from the graph of rate of
the reaction vs conc., then the reaction is of zero order.

ii)If the plot of rate of reaction against conc. gives a straight line, the reaction is of
first order.

In general, if a straight line is obtained by plotting a graph of rate of reaction vs

(conc.)n (where n= 1,2 3 -----) then

Rate = k[A]n and the order of reaction is ‘n’.

Q.13) How is the order of the reaction determined by differential rate method.
Ans : In this method, two different intial concentrations of the reactants are taken and their rates
are measured at these concentrations.Then a graph of rate verses concentration is plotted.The
rate of the reaction is determined from the slope of the tangents drawn to the curves and then the
order of the reaction is determined as follows:

Consider the following reaction

A Products

Rate of reaction = k cn -------------------I

Where n is the order of the reaction and c is the concentration of the reactant .
If c1 and c2 are the initial concentration of the reactants with rates (dx/dt)1 and (dx/dt)2 respectively,
then form equation 1 we get

dx = k.c1n ------------------II
dt 1

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 dx = k.c2 n ------------------------III
dt 2

Dividing II by III we get,

n
(dx/dt)1 = c1 ------------------------IV
(dx/dt)2 c2

Applying log on both sides of equation IV we get

n
log (dx/dt)1 = log c1
(dx/dt)2 c2

log(dx/dt)1 - log(dx/dt)2 = n(log c1 - log c2)

n = log(dx/dt)1 - log(dx/dt)2
log c1 - log c2

= log(slope)1 - log(slope)2
log c1 - log c2
Graph

Slope = (dx/dt)1

x Slope = (dx/dt)2

t
time

---------------------------X-----------------------

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