Wits School of Education

Division of Science Education

Physical Science IIIB EDUC3136
Chemistry Test 1- Reaction Kinetics
Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Attempt all Questions
1. For the reaction
IO3–(aq) + 5I–(aq) + 6H+(aq) → 3I2(aq) + 3H2O(l)
the rate of disappearance of I–(aq) at a particular time and concentration is 2.7 × 10-3
mol/(L · s). What is the rate of appearance of I2(aq)?
a) –1.6 × 10-3 mol/(L · s)
b) 8.1 × 10-3 mol/(L · s)
c) 1.6 × 10-3 mol/(L · s)
d) 4.5 × 10-3 mol/(L · s)
e) 6.2 × 10-3 mol/(L · s)
2. For the reaction of the ammonium ion with nitrous acid, the net reaction is
NH4+(aq) + HNO2(aq) → N2(g) + 2H2O(l) + H+(aq)
If the initial concentration of nitrous acid is 1.00 M and, after 42.6 s has elapsed, the
concentration of nitrous acid has fallen to 0.88 M, what is the average rate of the
reaction over this time interval?
a) 0.021 M/s
b) –0.021 M/s
c) –0.0028 M/s
d) 0.044 M/s
e) 0.0028 M/s
3. In the reaction 2H2O2(aq) → 2H2O(l) + O2(g), the initial concentration of H2O2 is 0.557 M
and, 20.4 s later, the concentration of H2O2 is 0.311 M. What is the initial rate of the
reaction?
a) 0.0121 M/s
b) –0.00603 M/s
c) –0.0121 M/s
d) 0.00603 M/s
e) 0.0152 M/s
4. If the rate law for a reaction is
Rate = k[ClO3–][I–][H+]2
what are the units of k when the unit of time is seconds and the unit of concentration is
moles per liter?
 a) mol/(L · s)
b) (L · s)/mol
c) mol2/(L2 · s)
d) L2/(mol2 · s)
e) L3/(mol3 · s)
5. Which of the following statements is always true?
a) Exothermic reactions have lower activation energies than endothermic reactions.
b) The rate for a reaction depends on the concentrations of all the reactants.
c) The rate of a catalyzed reaction is independent of the concentration of the catalyst.
d) The rate constant is independent of the concentrations of the reacting species.
e) The rate law can be determined from the stoichiometric equation
6. The hypochlorite ion oxidizes the iodide ion in aqueous solution as represented by the
following equation:
OCl–(aq) + I–(aq) → OI–(aq) + Cl–(aq)
[I  ][OCl ]
The rate law for this reaction is Rate = k . The overall reaction order and the
[OH  ]
order with respect to OH– are
a) 0 and 1.
b) 0 and –1.
c) 1 and –1.
d) 2 and 1.
e) 2 and –1.
7. The following data were obtained in a kinetics study of the hypothetical reaction A + B
+ C → products.
[A]0 (M) [B]0 (M) [C]0 (M) Initial Rate (10 -3
M/s)
0.4 0.4 0.2 160
0.2 0.4 0.4 80
0.6 0.1 0.2 15
0.2 0.1 0.2 5
0.2 0.2 0.4 20
Using the initial-rate method, what is the order of the reaction with respect to B?
a) third-order
b) second-order
c) zero-order
d) first-order
e) impossible to tell from the data given
8. The rate law for the hydrolysis of thioacetamide (CH3CSNH2),
CH3CSNH2(aq) + H2O(l) → H2S(g) + CH3CONH2(aq)
is Rate = k[H+][CH3CSNH2]. If, during the course of the reaction, some solid sodium
hydroxide is added to the reaction mixture, then
 a) the reaction rate decreases, but k remains the same.
b) the reaction rate increases, but k remains the same.
c) the reaction rate remains the same, but k decreases.
d) the reaction rate remains the same, but k increases.
e) there is no change in the reaction rate or the rate constant
9. The reaction between selenous acid and the iodide ion in acid solution is
H2SeO3(aq) + 6I–(aq) + 4H+(aq) → Se(s) + 2I3–(aq) + 3H2O(l)
The data in the following table were measured at 0°C.
Experiment [H2SeO3]0 (M) [H+]0 (M) [I–]0 (M) Initial Rate [mol/(L ·
s)]
1 1.00 × 10–4 2.00 × 10–2 3.00 × 10–2 5.30 × 10–7
–4
2 2.00 × 10 2.00 × 10–2 3.00 × 10–2 1.06 × 10–6
3 3.00 × 10–4 4.00 × 10–2 3.00 × 10–2 6.36 × 10–6
–4
4 3.00 × 10 8.00 × 10–2 3.00 × 10–2 2.54 × 10–5
5 3.00 × 10–4 8.00 × 10–2 6.00 × 10–2 2.04 × 10–4
–4
6 2.00 × 10 2.00 × 10–2 6.00 × 10–2 8.48 × 10–6
The overall order of this reaction is
a) 2.
b) 3.
c) 4.
d) 6.
e) 8.
10. Which of the following corresponds to the correct integrated expression for a first-order
reaction?
1 1
a)   kt
A B
1 1
b)   kt
A A0
1 A
c)  ln  kt
A0 A0
d) ln A  ln A0   kt
0.693
e) t1 2 
k
11. The nuclide 96Nb decays by a first-order process with a rate constant of 2.96 × 10-2 h-1.
How long will it take for 85.0% of the initial amount of 96Nb to be consumed?
a) 64.1 h
b) 28.7 h
c) 33.8 h
d) 5.49 h
e) 5.07 h
12. A reaction that is second-order in one reactant has a rate constant of 2.0 × 10-2 L/(mol · s).
If the initial concentration of the reactant is 0.340 mol/L, how long will it take for the
concentration to become 0.170 mol/L?
a) 35 s
b) 74 s
c) 150 s
d) 1500 s
e) 350 s
13. Dinitrogen tetroxide decomposes to form nitrogen dioxide in a second-order reaction:
N2O4(g) → 2NO2(g)
At 400.0 K, the rate constant for this reaction has been measured to be 2.9 × 108 L/(mol
· s). Suppose 0.639 mol of N2O4(g) is placed in a sealed 17.8-L container at 400.0 K
and allowed to react. What is the total pressure inside the vessel after 22.8 ns has
elapsed? (R = 0.0821 (L · atm)/(K · mol))
a) 3.54 atm
b) 0.953 atm
c) 1.18 atm
d) 2.36 atm
e) 1.41 atm
14. For the hypothetical reaction A → products, the concentration of A was monitored with
time. From the following graph, what is the rate constant for the decomposition of A?
 a) 10.00 M-1 s-1
b) –10.00 M-1 s-1
c) 0.07238 M-1 s-1
d) –0.07238 M-1 s-1
e) 0.007238 M-1 s-
15. Which of the following statements best describes the condition(s) needed for a
successful formation for a product according to the collision model?
a) The collision must involve a sufficient amount of energy, provided from the motion
of the particles, to overcome the activation energy.
b) The relative orientation of the particles has little or no effect on the formation of the
product.
c) The relative orientation of the particles has an effect only if the kinetic energy of the
particles is below some minimum value.
d) The relative orientation of the particles must allow for formation of the new bonds
in the product.
e) The energy of the incoming particles must be above a certain minimum value, and the
relative
16. The rates of most chemical reactions are sensitive to a change in the temperature of the
reaction system. The increase in rate as the temperature increases is best explained by
a) a decrease in the activation energy.
b) an increase in the activation energy.
c) an increase in the number of high-energy molecules.
d) an increase in the collision frequency.
e) a decrease in the collision frequency
17. Which of the following statements is not a requirement for a valid reaction mechanism?
a) The elementary reactions of a mechanism must add up to the net chemical reaction.
b) The rate law predicted by a mechanism must agree with the experimental rate law.
c) Each elementary reaction must be bimolecular.
d) A mechanism must have only one rate-determining step.
e) There must not be net production of any intermediates .
18. A proposed mechanism for the decomposition of N2O5 is as follows:
N2O5  NO2 + NO3
k1
slow step

NO2 + NO3  NO2 + O2 + NO

k2
fast step
 NO + N2O5  3NO2
k3
fast step
What is the overall chemical equation predicted by this mechanism?
a) N2O5 → NO2 + NO3
b) N2O5 → NO2 + O2 + NO
c) N2O5 + NO2 + NO3 → 4NO2 + O2
d) 2N2O5 → 4NO2 + O2
e) N2O5 + NO → 3NO2
19. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
a) Chemical reactions involve collisions between the participating molecules.
b) A three-body collision is less likely than a two-body collision.
c) The slow step in a mechanism generally involves a three-body collision.
d) Most collisions between reactant molecules do not lead to a product.
e) After the addition of a catalyst, the collision rate between molecules is still the same.
20. A suggested mechanism for the decomposition of ozone is as follows:

k1

O3 k –1 O2 + O fast equilibrium

O + O3  2O2
k2
slow step
What is the rate law predicted by this mechanism?
k1
a) Rate = [O3]
k1
b) Rate = k2[O] [O3]
k [O2 ] [O]
c) Rate = 1
k1 [O3 ]
kk
d) Rate = 1 2 [O3]2[O]
k1
k1k2 [O3 ]2
e) Rate =
k1 [O2 ]

21. If a reaction is zero-order in a reactant, when the concentration of the reactant is decreased by a factor of
2, the reaction rate will
a) remain constant.
b) decrease by a factor of 1/4.
c) decrease by a factor of 1/2.
d) double.
e) quadruple

22. The rate law for the reaction between chlorine and nitric oxide,
2NO(g) + Cl2(g) → 2NOCl(g)
is Rate = k[NO]2[Cl2]. Which of the following changes will not alter the initial rate of the reaction?
 a) decreasing the volume of the reaction system
b) running the reaction in a solvent rather than in the gas phase
c) increasing the volume of the reaction system
d) increasing the concentration of chlorine gas
e) increasing the concentration of NOCl

23. In a first-order reaction, the half-life is 144 minutes. What is the rate constant?
a) 8.02 × 10-5 s-1
b) 1.16 × 10-4 s-1
c) 5990 s-1
d) 0.289 s-1
e) 4.81 × 10-3 s-1
24. The activation energy for a reaction can be changed by
1. adding more reactants.
2. adding a catalyst.
3. providing another reaction pathway.
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) 3 only
d) 1 and 2 only
e) 2 and 3 only

25. For the following reaction producing 1 mol of oxygen gas at a particular temperature, ∆H = –200 kJ.
NO(g) + O3(g) → NO2(g) + O2(g)
The activation energy is 11 kJ/mol. What is the activation energy for the reverse reaction?
a) 11 kJ/mol
b) 188 kJ/mol
c) 200 kJ/mol
d) 211 kJ/mol
e) 222 kJ/mol

26. The rate constants for the first-order decomposition of a compound are 5.50 × 10 –4 s-1 at 39°C and 2.32 ×
10–3 s-1 at 56°C. What is the value of the activation energy for this reaction? (R = 8.31 J/(mol · K))
a) 0.704 kJ/mol
b) 72.2 kJ/mol
c) 1.54 kJ/mol
d) 0.667 kJ/mol
e) 31.4 kJ/mol
27. The rate constant for a reaction at 40.0°C is exactly 3 times that at 20.0°C. Calculate the Arrhenius energy
of activation for the reaction.
a) 3.00 kJ/mol
b) 9.1 kJ/mol
c) 41.9 kJ/mol
d) 5.04 kJ/mol
e) none of these
28. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
a) Chemical reactions involve collisions between the participating molecules.
b) A three-body collision is less likely than a two-body collision.
c) The slow step in a mechanism generally involves a three-body collision.
d) Most collisions between reactant molecules do not lead to a product.
e) After the addition of a catalyst, the collision rate between molecules is still the same

29. Below is a proposed mechanism for the decomposition of H2O2.

H2O2 + I– → H2O + IO– slow
– –
H2O2 + IO → H2O + O2 + I fast
Which of the following statements is incorrect?
a) The reaction is first-order with respect to [I–].
b) The reaction is first-order with respect to [H2O2].
c) I– is a catalyst.
d) The net reaction is 2H2O2 → 2H2O + O2.
e) IO– is a catalyst.

30. The following mechanism has been suggested for the reaction between nitrogen monoxide and oxygen:
NO(g) + NO(g)  N2O2(g) (slow)
N2O2(g) + O2(g) → 2NO2(g) (fast)
According to this mechanism, the experimental rate law is
a) second-order in NO and first-order in O2.
b) second-order in NO and zero-order in O2.
c) first-order in NO and first-order in O2.
d) first-order in NO and second-order in O2.
e) first-order in NO and zero-order in O2.
31. A mechanism that explains the rate law, Rate = k[(CH3)3CO2C(CH3)3], for the gas-phase thermal
decomposition of di-tert-butyl peroxide is given below.

For this reaction, the rate-determining step(s) must be

a) step 1.
b) step 2.
c) step 3.
d) 2 times step 2.
e) step 1 + step 2 + step 3.

32. The reaction CHCl3(g) + Cl2(g)  CCl4(g) + HCl(g) has been proposed to occur by the following
mechanism.
k1

Cl2 k–1 2Cl fast equilibrium

k
CHCl3 + Cl  HCl + CCl3
2
slow step
k
CCl3 + Cl  CCl4
3
fast
What is the rate law predicted by this mechanism?
 a) Rate = k1[Cl2]
b) Rate = k2[CHCl3][Cl]
c) Rate = k3[CCl3][Cl]
d) Rate = kexp[CHCl3][Cl2]
e) Rate = k2(k1/k-1)1/2[CHCl3][Cl2]1/2
33. A suggested mechanism for the decomposition of ozone is as follows:

k1

O3
k –1 O + O fast equilibrium
2

O + O3  2O2
2 k
slow step

What is the rate law predicted by this mechanism?

k1
a) Rate = [O3]
k1
b) Rate = k2[O] [O3]
k1 [O2 ] [O]
c) Rate =
k1 [O3 ]
kk
d) Rate = 1 2 [O3]2[O]
k1
k1k2 [O3 ]2
e) Rate =
k1 [O2 ]
34. A suggested mechanism for the decomposition of ozone is

k1

O3
k –1 O + O fast equilibrium
2

O + O3  2O2
2 k
slow step

When the concentration of ozone is doubled and the concentration of oxygen is doubled, the instantaneous
rate
 a) remains the same.
b) decreases.
c) increases by a factor of 2.
d) increases by a factor of 4.
e) increases by a factor of 8.
35. In a chemical reaction at constant temperature, the addition of a catalyst
a) affects the equilibrium constant.
b) increases the fraction of molecules with more than a given kinetic energy.
c) decreases the energy released in the chemical reaction.
d) increases the concentration of the products at equilibrium.
e) provides an alternative reaction pathway with a different activation energy.
36. Which of the following reactions is not an example of heterogeneous catalysis?
2SO2(g) + O2(g)    2SO3(g)
V2O5 ( s )
a)
2CO(g) + 2NO(g)   2CO2(g) + N2(g)
Rh( s )
b)
C2H4(g) + H2(g)   C2H6(g)
Ni( s )
c)
CO(g) + 3H2(g)   CH4(g) + H2O(g)
Co( s )
d)
Cl( g )
e) 2O3(g)   3O2(g)
37. A suggested mechanism for the decomposition of ozone is

k1

O3
k –1 O + O fast equilibrium
2

O + O3  2O2
2 k
slow step

When the concentration of ozone is doubled and the concentration of oxygen is doubled, the instantaneous
rate
a) remains the same.
b) decreases.
c) increases by a factor of 2.
d) increases by a factor of 4.
e) increases by a factor of 8.
38. The rate law for a reaction is found to be Rate = k[A]2[B]. Which of the following mechanisms gives this
rate law?

I. A+B E (fast)
E + B → C + D (slow)
II. A + B E (fast)
E + A → C + D (slow)
III. A + A → E (slow).
E + B → C + D (fast)

a) I only
b) II only
c) III only
d) two of these
e) none of these
39. For a given reaction, the rate constant, k, was determined at different temperatures. To obtain the
activation energy, one should plot
a) k vs. T.
b) log k vs. T.
c) ln k vs. T.
d) k vs. 1/T.
e) ln k vs. 1/T.
40. The rate constants for the first-order decomposition of a compound are 5.50 × 10 –4 s-1 at 39°C and 2.32 ×
10–3 s-1 at 56°C. What is the value of the activation energy for this reaction? (R = 8.31 J/(mol · K))
a) 0.704 kJ/mol
b) 72.2 kJ/mol
c) 1.54 kJ/mol
d) 0.667 kJ/mol
e) 31.4 kJ/mol