Significance of the order of a reaction?

[Ryan Fang 1D]

What does the order of a reaction tell us about the reaction?

[Rachel Formaker 1E]

The order of a reaction tells us how the rate of reaction is affected by the concentration of the reactants.

For a zero-order reaction, the rate of reaction is independent of the concentration of reactants, so changing the reactant concentration will have no effect on the reaction rate.

For a first-order reaction, the rate of reaction is directly proportional to the concentration of reactants, so doubling the reactant concentration doubles the reaction rate.

For a second-order reaction, the rate of reaction is proportional to the square of the concentration of reactants, so doubling the reactant concentration quadruples the reaction rate.