Term | Definition |
Reaction Rate | The speed at which a chemical reaction occurs |
Chemical Kinetics | The area of chemistry concerned with the speeds, or rates, of reactions |
Instantaneous rate | The rate at a particular instant during the reaction |
Rate law | The rate depends on reactant concentrations |
Rate constant | Constant K |
Reaction orders | The exponents m and n |
Overall reaction order | The sum of the orders with respect to each reactant represented in the rate law |
First order reaction | On whose rate depends on the concentration of a single reactant to the first power |
Second order reaction | On whose rate depends either on a reactant concentration raised to the second power or On the concentration of two reactants each raised to the first power |
Zero order reaction | One in which the rate of disappearance of A is independent of [A] |
Half life | The time required for the concentration of a reactant to reach half its initial value |
Activation energy | The minimum energy required to initiate a chemical reaction |
Activated complex or the transition state | The difference between the energy of the starting molecule and the highest energy along the reaction pathway is the activation energy |
Arrhenius equation | k=Ae^-Esuba/RT |
Frequency factor | Related to the frequency of collisions and the probability that the collisions are favorable oriented for reaction. |
Elementary reactons | Both reactions occur in a single event of step |
Molecularity | The number of molecules that participate as reactants in an elementary reaction |
Unimolecular | A single molecule is involved |
Bimolecular | Reactions involving the collision of two reactant molecules |
Termolecular | Elementary reactions involving the simultaneous collision of three molecules |
Reaction mechanism | The steps by which a reaction occurs |