Figuring out overall order of reaction based on balanced reaction

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JennaMinami1I
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2016 2:56 pm

Figuring out overall order of reaction based on balanced reaction

Postby JennaMinami1I » Fri Feb 17, 2017 2:46 pm

Hello! Not sure if this is the right location for this question, but how would I solve a problem like this:

Given: Fe2+ +O2 + H2O ---> Fe3+ +OH-

Rate: k[Fe2+]*[OH-]^2*[O2]

The overall order of the rxn and the order with respect to OH- are: __________

Do I just look at the powers of the concentrations in the rate?

Ie: Rate: k[Fe2+]^1*[OH-]^2*[O2]^1

Therefore, the overall order of reaction is 4, and the order with respect to OH- is 2??

Thank you :)

Omer Lavian 2K
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2016 2:57 pm

Re: Figuring out overall order of reaction based on balanced reaction

Postby Omer Lavian 2K » Fri Feb 17, 2017 3:01 pm

Yes! You're exactly right! The trick is just to know that the order of the reaction and the order for each reactant are separate things.

Sometimes the order of the reactant and the reaction are the same value, but they still represent different things.


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