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reaction order

chemistry
Also known as: kinetic order of reaction, order of reaction

Quick Summary

In chemistry, the order of a reaction describes how the rate of a chemical reaction is influenced by the concentration of the reacting substances. This is determined by the sum of the exponents of the concentration terms in the reaction rate expression.12

For example, if a reaction's rate is proportional to the concentration of substance A raised to the power of one and substance B raised to the power of one, it is a second-order reaction (first-order in A and first-order in B). The rate can be expressed as v = k[A][B], where k is the rate constant.2

Other orders exist, such as first-order reactions where the rate is proportional to the concentration of one substance (v = k[A]), and zero-order reactions where the rate is constant and independent of concentration. It's important to note that a reaction's kinetics don't always directly match its balanced chemical equation, as reactions can occur in multiple steps.2

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