The rate of a first order reaction is followed by spectroscopy, monitoring the absorption of a colored reactant. The reaction occurs in a 1.00 cm sample cell, and the only colored species in the reaction has a molar absorptivity constant of 5.6 x 10^3 1/Mcm.
(a) Calculate the initial concentration of the colored reactant if the absorbance is 0.605 at the beginning of the reaction.
(b) The absorbance falls to 0.250 within 30 minutes. Calculate the rate constant in units of 1/sec.
(c) Calculate the half life of the reaction.