Chapter 11, Problem 11.51PAE

11.51 Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) has the chemical formula CtHjNOj and is an important lung irritant in photochemical smog. An experiment to determine the decomposition kinetics of PAN gave the data below. Determine the order of reaction and calculate the rate constant for the decomposition of PAN.

Time, t (min)	Partial Pressure of PAN (torr)
0.0	2.00 X 10~’
10.0	1.61 X 10~}
20.0	1.30 X 10_J
30.0	1.04 X 10"’
40.0	8.41 X 10-4
50.0	6.77 x 10-4
60.0	5.45 X 10-4