Using Rate Law Tutorial
Key Concepts
- Reaction rate is the time rate of change of concentration of a reactant or product in a chemical reaction.
- The rate of consumption of a reactant is always negative.
- The rate of formation of a product is always positive.
For the reaction: aA + bB → cC + dD
If the reaction rate for the production of D = rate(1)
Then during the experiment, the reaction rate for the consumption of A and B and for the production of C is as follows:
(a) rate(A) = -a/d rate(1)
(b) rate(B) = -b/d rate(1)
(c) rate(C) = c/d rate(1)
- Rate law for a chemical reaction is the algebraic expression of the relationship between concentration and the rate of a reaction at a particular temperature.
example 1:
rate ∝ concentrationexample 2:
rate ∝ concentration2 - The constant of proportionality in the algebraic expression is given the symbol k and is refered to as the specific rate constant for the reaction.
example 1:
rate = k1 × concentrationexample 2:
rate = k2 × concentration2 - The rate law cannot be determined from the chemical equation for a reaction, it can only be determined by experimental measurements of a reaction rate at a particular temperature.