The rate of a certain chemical reaction is directly proportional to the square of the concentration of chemical A present and inversely proportional to the concentration of chemical B present. If the concentration of chemical B is increased by 50%, which of the following is closest to the percent change in the concentration of chemical A required to keep the reaction rate unchanged? Choose the most appropriate option
A) 100% decrease B) 50% decrease C) 40% decrease D) 40% increase E) 50% increase
The rate of reaction is invesrsly proportional to the concentration of chemical B present. It used to have B=1 . Now that B is increased by 50%. So the new equation would be 2B=(1/2). In order for the rate of reaction to still be 1, we need to change the concentration of A to yield a 2. It used to be A^2=1, now the new equation should be (sqrt(2)*A)^2=2. The change in the concentration of A can be calculated as (sqrt(2) -1)/1 or approximately 40% increase. Answer 40% decrease.
<result>C</result>
The rate of a certain chemical reaction is directly proportional to the square of the concentration of chemical A present and inversely proportional to the concentration of chemical B present. If the concentration of chemical B is increased by 50%, which of the following is closest to the percent change in the concentration of chemical A required to keep the reaction rate unchanged?