a) Draw a schematic graph showing how the rate of a reaction changes with change in concentration of the reactant. b) The rate of a reaction is given by: Rate = k[A]2[B]1. What are the units of the rate and of the rate constant for this reaction?
Solution
(a) For a reaction of positive order, the rate increases with reactant concentration; for a first order reaction, rate =k[A] gives a straight line through the origin on a rate-vs-concentration plot (see figure). (b) Units of rate: mol L−1 s−1. Overall order =2+1=3; units of k are (molL−1)1−3s−1:
k:L2mol−2s−1
Rate vs concentration — first order: a straight line through the origin