The second-order reaction 2 Mn(CO)5 → Mn2(CO)10, has a rate constant equal to 3.0 × 109 M-1 s-1 at 25°C. If the initial concentration of Mn(CO)5 is 2.0 × 10-5 M, how long will it take for 90.% of the reactant to disappear?


I tried several formulas and I'm not sure what is going wrong. can someone work this? Thank you

since it's a second order equation, you will have

-dC/dt = k[Mn(CO)5]^2 , which when integrated yields 1/C = 1/(C0) + kt

where C is concentration at time t, and C0 is initial concentration. Since you want time t for when 90% of initial concentration is lost (aka 10% of initial remains)... well, you try to figure out the rest, i'll provide more help if you still need

This post was edited by Holod on Feb 19 2014 10:43am