Chemistry

Craig Kaufman

27 August, 01:45

The disaccharide lactose can be decomposed into its constituent sugars galactose and glucose by acid hydrolysis or by the enzyme lactase. Lactose intolerance in humans is due to the lack of lactase production by cells in the small intestine. However, the stomach is an acidic environment; therefore, one might expect lactose hydrolysis to still be an efficient process. The following data were obtained for the rate of lactose decomposition as a function of acid and lactose concentration. (14 pts)

Run [lactose]o (mol/L) [H+]o (mol/L) Initial rate (mol/L∙s) 1 0.01 0.001 0.001162 0.02 0.001 0.002323 0.01 0.004 0.00464

a. Using this information, determine the rate law expression and the rate constant for the acid-based hydrolysis of lactose.

b. Based on your reaction order with respect to lactose only and using an initial concentration of 0.01 M lactose, determine what concentration of lactose would be after 10 minutes