Units

$aR \to bP, Rate = -\frac{1}{a} \frac{d[R]}{dt} = \frac{1}{b}\frac{d[P]}{dt}$

smurphy1D
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2019 12:18 am

Units

Are units for all rate constants M/s? And what does it mean if the s has a -1 attached in the denominator?

asannajust_1J
Posts: 105
Joined: Wed Sep 11, 2019 12:16 am
Been upvoted: 1 time

Re: Units

the units for k are 1/M^(n-1)*s. n being the order of the reaction. Thus, if the reaction is first order the units are 1/s and second order 1/Ms and so on.
x-1 is just 1/x

Michael Nguyen 1E
Posts: 120
Joined: Sat Aug 17, 2019 12:17 am

Re: Units

The unit for the rate constant will depend on the overall reaction order. The rate will always be in units of M/s and each concentration will be in M. So the rate constant will always be in units so that when multiplied with the concentrations, the result will be in M/s.

Leonardo Le Merle 1D
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:16 am

Re: Units

Zeroth order: M * s^-1
First order: s^-1
Second Order: M^-1 * s^-1
etc.

Tanmay Singhal 1H
Posts: 143
Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2019 12:16 am

Re: Units

rate constant units are determined by order of reaction