Understanding Rates of Reaction
Think of rate of reaction as the speedometer for chemical processes - it measures how quickly reactants disappear or products form. You'll calculate this using the formula: rate = change in concentration ÷ time, with units of mol dm⁻³ s⁻¹.
When you plot concentration against time, you'll get a distinctive curve that tells an important story. The graph starts steep because reactions are fastest at the beginning when there's loads of reactant available. As time goes on, the curve becomes less steep because reactants get used up.
Eventually, the line flattens into a plateau, showing the reaction has finished. This pattern appears in virtually every concentration-time graph you'll encounter, so recognising it is dead useful for your exams.
Quick Tip: The steeper the slope at any point, the faster the reaction is happening at that moment!
