A student tested the effect of temperature on the decomposition of N2O5. He found that the rate of the reaction at a lower temperature was 4.2 x 10–3 s–1 and the rate at a higher temperature was 1.6 x 101 s–1. What is wrong with the student's data?

A. Nothing. Rate constants are constant for a given reaction temperature, and vary as temperatures change.
B. The rate constant must be less than 1.
C. The rate constant should be the same for each reaction.
D. The rate constant must be greater than 1.

Nothing. Rate constants are constant for a given reaction temperature, and vary as temperatures change.

Well, it seems like the student's data has a case of temperature confusion. The student thought that the rate constant for the reaction should be the same at different temperatures, but that's not quite right. The rate constant actually changes with temperature. So, the correct answer would be A: Nothing. Rate constants are constant for a given reaction temperature and vary as temperatures change. It's all about those temperature twists and turns messing with the rate of reaction.

The correct answer is C. The rate constant should be the same for each reaction.

The rate constant is a proportionality constant that relates the rate of a reaction to the concentrations of the reactants. It is specific to a particular reaction at a given temperature. According to the collision theory of chemical reactions, the rate constant does not change with the temperature, assuming other factors such as concentration and pressure remain constant.

Therefore, if the student found different rate constants for the reaction at different temperatures (4.2 x 10–3 s–1 and 1.6 x 101 s–1), there is something wrong with the data. The rate constant should be the same for each reaction, regardless of the temperature.

The correct answer is C. The rate constant should be the same for each reaction.

The rate constant (k) is a proportionality constant that relates the rate of a chemical reaction to the concentrations of reactants. It is a characteristic value for a particular reaction at a specific temperature. In this case, the student measured the rates of the same reaction at two different temperatures. According to the data provided, the rate constant at the lower temperature is 4.2 x 10–3 s–1, while at the higher temperature it is 1.6 x 101 s–1.

Since the rate constants are different for the two temperatures, this suggests that the rate of the decomposition of N2O5 is not consistent with respect to temperature. In other words, the student's data indicates that the rate of reaction changes as the temperature changes, which is inconsistent with the behavior of rate constants.

Thus, the correct assessment is that the rate constant should be the same for each reaction, making option C the correct answer.