Question

Butadiene, C₄H₆, dimerizes in a Diels-Alder condensation to yield a substituted cyclohexene, C₈H₁₂. Given the data on the gas phase reaction, below, determine the order of the reaction and find the rate constant (expressed with appropriate units).

Time (s)	Total pressure (torr)
0	626
750	579
1500	545
2460	510
3425	485
4280	465
5140	450
6000	440
7500	425
9000	410
10500	405

  

hint: Assume that the total pressure at time zero is due to the reactant. After that, the total pressure is the sum of reactant and product pressures. You’ll need to separate out the reactant pressure from the total using stoichiometry.

another thing to know: We’ve defined our rate equations using concentrations [A] and [A]₀ but for gases you can substitute partial pressures P_A and P_A,0 and use the same equations.

Answer 1