Kinetics and Reaction Rate: Cyclopropane Isomerization to Propene at 500°C

[Kushal]

Homework Statement

cyclopropane isomerises to propene at a temperature of 500^$$\circ$$C. The kinetics of the reaction was studied by measuring the volume of propene formed at every minute. The results obtained were tabulated below:

Plot these experiemntal results graphically.

*please follow this link to see the graph:

Use your graph to explain how the experimental results justify that the isomerisation is a fisrt order reaction.

The Attempt at a Solution

ok, i know that if the reaction is first order, the half life of the graph should remain constant.

the problem is that the graph is about the volume of propene formed and not of the volume of cyclopropane isomerising.

how should i verify that this reaction is first order?

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Read through this page. http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/c123/rate.html In it, you will find information about a certain way to plot your data that should give you a straight line if your reaction exhibits first order kinetics.

 

[Blueshift5]

In order to verify that the isomerization of cyclopropane to propene at 500°C is a first order reaction, we can observe the graph of the experimental results. The graph shows that the volume of propene formed increases linearly with time, indicating that the reaction is proceeding at a constant rate. This is a characteristic of first order reactions, where the rate of reaction is directly proportional to the concentration of the reactant (in this case, cyclopropane).

Additionally, we can look at the half-life of the reaction, which is the time it takes for half of the reactant to be converted into product. In a first order reaction, the half-life remains constant, regardless of the initial concentration of the reactant. By observing the graph, we can see that the half-life of the reaction remains constant, as the rate of increase in propene volume is the same at each time interval.

Moreover, the slope of the graph represents the rate constant for the reaction, which is a characteristic of first order reactions. This further supports the conclusion that the isomerization of cyclopropane to propene at 500°C is a first order reaction.

In conclusion, the experimental results of the volume of propene formed over time support the fact that the isomerization reaction is first order. The linear increase in product concentration, constant half-life, and rate constant all point to a first order reaction.