The reaction acetic acid (A) + butanol (B)→ester + water was studied by Leyes and Othmer, who found the data in Table 6.P4 at 100◦C in the presence of 0.03 percent sulfuric acid. The initial concentrations were 0.2327 mol acetic acid/100 g of solution and 1.583 mol butanol/100 g of solution. Leyes and Othmer claimed that the reaction is second order in acetic acid and zero order in butanol up to 75 percent conversion; i.e., r = kc²A . Do the data support this contention? Can you distinguish this relation from r = kc_Ac_B with the data given here? (You may assume that the density of the solution is constant over the course of the reaction with a value of approximately 750 kg/m³. Why is this assumption permissible?)

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time (hr) moles of acid converted/100 g solution 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 69 7 0 0.1552 0.1876 0.2012 0.2067 0.2089 0.2099 0.2109