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12.4 Exercise 11

Avg difficulty 2.5

Some bacteria are resistant to the antibiotic penicillin because they produce penicillinase, an enzyme with a molecular weight of 3 ×\times 104 g/mol that converts penicillin into inactive molecules. Although the kinetics of enzyme-catalyzed reactions can be complex, at low concentrations this reaction can be described by a rate law that is first order in the catalyst (penicillinase) and that also involves the concentration of penicillin. From the following data: 1.0 L of a solution containing 0.15 µg (0.15 ×\times 10−6 g) of penicillinase, determine the order of the reaction with respect to penicillin and the value of the rate constant.

[Penicillin] (M) Rate (mol L−1 min−1)
2.0 ×\times 10−6 1.0 ×\times 10−10
3.0 ×\times 10−6 1.5 ×\times 10−10
4.0 ×\times 10−6 2.0 ×\times 10−10

OpenStax Chemistry 2e, 12.4 Integrated Rate Laws, exercise 11

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Adapted from General Chemistry © 2019 Rice University. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Sources: Chemistry 2e, Chemistry: Atoms First 2e. Imported at revision 32c7196.