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Ch.14 - Chemical Kinetics
Chapter 14, Problem 33a(iii)

Consider the reaction: H2(g) + Br2(g) → 2 HBr(g) The graph shows the concentration of Br2 as a function of time. a. Use the graph to calculate each quantity: (iii) the instantaneous rate of formation of HBr at 50 s

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Identify the relationship between the rate of disappearance of Br2 and the rate of formation of HBr from the balanced chemical equation: H2 + Br22 HBr. The stoichiometry shows that 1 mole of Br2 produces 2 moles of HBr.
Determine the instantaneous rate of disappearance of Br2 at 50 seconds by finding the slope of the tangent line to the concentration vs. time graph at that point. This slope represents - rac{d[ ext{Br}_2]}{dt}.
Calculate the instantaneous rate of formation of HBr using the stoichiometric relationship: ext{rate of formation of HBr} = 2 imes ext{rate of disappearance of Br}_2.
Express the rate of formation of HBr as rac{d[ ext{HBr}]}{dt} = 2 imes iggl(- rac{d[ ext{Br}_2]}{dt}iggr), ensuring the rate is positive since it is a formation rate.
Summarize the result as the instantaneous rate of formation of HBr at 50 s, based on the slope obtained from the graph and the stoichiometric factor of 2.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Reaction Rate and Instantaneous Rate

The reaction rate measures how fast reactants are consumed or products are formed. The instantaneous rate is the rate at a specific moment, found by calculating the slope of the concentration vs. time graph at that point, often using the tangent line.
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Stoichiometry and Rate Relationships

Stoichiometry relates the amounts of reactants and products in a chemical reaction. For the reaction H2 + Br2 → 2 HBr, the rate of formation of HBr is twice the rate of consumption of Br2, so rates must be adjusted according to their coefficients.
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Interpreting Concentration-Time Graphs

Concentration-time graphs show how reactant or product concentrations change over time. The slope of the curve at a given time gives the rate of change of concentration, which can be used to find instantaneous rates for reactants or products.
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