Q16.9 P - Chemistry: Molecular Nature Of Matter And Change

Question

Give two reasons to measure initial rates in a kinetic study.

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

The answer is,

1) To calculate the overall rate of a reaction.

2) To calculate many other kinetic parameters.

Step 1: Rate of a reaction

The rate of a reaction is the speed at which the reactants undergo product formation at a constant temperature. The initial rate is the rate at the initial point of the reaction, where the reactant concentration is introduced.

Step 2: Explanation

The two reasons to measure the initial rate in a kinetic study is as given below.

1) The overall rate of a reaction is calculated by measuring the rate of the forward reaction and that of the reverse reaction and taking the difference of both. This is done by finding the initial rate, the instantaneous rate at the initial point of addition of reactants to avoid complications of the calculations.

2) The initial rate of the reaction is used to calculate many other kinetic parameters.