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title: "A student investigated the kinetics of the gas-phase decomposition of sulfuryl chloride, \\(\\text{SO}_2\\text{Cl}_2\\text{(g)}\\), at a constant temperature according to the following equation:  \\[\\text{SO}_2\\text{Cl}_2\\text{(g)} \\rightarrow \\text{SO}_2\\text{(g)} + \\text{Cl}_2\\text{(g)}\\]  The student measured the concentration of \\(\\text{SO}_2\\text{Cl}_2\\) at various times during the reaction and plotted \\(\\ln[\\text{SO}_2\\text{Cl}_2]\\) as a function of time, as shown in the graph below. The line of best fit has the equation \\(y = -0.0040\\,x – 1.60\\), where \\(y = \\ln[\\text{SO}_2\\text{Cl}_2]\\) and \\(x\\) is time in seconds.  Based on the graph, what is the order of the reaction with respect to \\(\\text{SO}_2\\text{Cl}_2\\) and the value of the rate constant, \\(k\\)?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/121428/"
date_modified: "2026-08-23T05:02:18+00:00"
---

# A student investigated the kinetics of the gas-phase decomposition of sulfuryl chloride, \(\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2\text{(g)}\), at a constant temperature according to the following equation:

\[\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2\text{(g)} \rightarrow \text{SO}_2\text{(g)} + \text{Cl}_2\text{(g)}\]

The student measured the concentration of \(\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2\) at various times during the reaction and plotted \(\ln[\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2]\) as a function of time, as shown in the graph below. The line of best fit has the equation \(y = -0.0040\,x – 1.60\), where \(y = \ln[\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2]\) and \(x\) is time in seconds.

Based on the graph, what is the order of the reaction with respect to \(\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2\) and the value of the rate constant, \(k\)?

A student investigated the kinetics of the gas-phase decomposition of sulfuryl chloride, \(\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2\text{(g)}\), at a constant temperature according to the following equation:

\[\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2\text{(g)} \rightarrow \text{SO}_2\text{(g)} + \text{Cl}_2\text{(g)}\]

The student measured the concentration of \(\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2\) at various times during the reaction and plotted \(\ln[\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2]\) as a function of time, as shown in the graph below. The line of best fit has the equation \(y = -0.0040\,x - 1.60\), where \(y = \ln[\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2]\) and \(x\) is time in seconds.

Based on the graph, what is the order of the reaction with respect to \(\text{SO}_2\text{Cl}_2\) and the value of the rate constant, \(k\)?

![A 2D Cartesian graph with bare axes showing a linear data series. The horizontal axis is labeled Time (s) and ranges from 0 to 500 with tick marks at intervals of 100. The vertical axis is labeled ln[SO2Cl2] and ranges from -3.60 to -1.60 with tick marks at intervals of 0.50. A single solid black line of best fit with a constant negative slope extends downward from the y-intercept at (0, -1.60) to the point (500, -3.60). Five solid black circular data points are plotted directly along this solid line at time values of 0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 seconds. A text box above the line displays the equation y = -0.0040x - 1.60. No other particles, labels, text, or annotations appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1787461338-Cz8yhO.jpg)

- **A.** Zero order, and \(k = 0.0040 \text{ M}\cdot\text{s}^{-1}\)
- **B.** First order, and \(k = 1.60 \text{ s}^{-1}\)
- **C.** First order, and \(k = 0.0040 \text{ s}^{-1}\)
- **D.** Second order, and \(k = 0.0040 \text{ M}^{-1}\cdot\text{s}^{-1}\)

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/121428/*