Reaction rates have units of .

Question

Reaction rates have units of                             .

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Let's restate the problem to orient the discussion: Reaction rates have units of ______.
Option 1: "concentration x time" suggests units that multiply concentration by time. That would not yield a rate; multiplying would give an amount (e.g., mol/L * s), which has the dimension of amount per area per time in some contexts but is not the standard unit for a rate of a reaction in solution chemistry. This is not consistent with the conventional definition of rate as change in concentration over time.
Option 2: "reciprocal time" implies units of 1/time (s^-1, for example). While certain rate-related concepts (like first-order rate constants) have time^{-1} units, the rate itself is typically expressed as concentration change per unit time, not simply inverse time. This makes the option incomplete for the standard reaction rate.
Option 3: "concentration/time" presents the intuitive and standard form for a reaction rate: it is the change in concentration divided by the change in time, i.e., [A]/t, with units such as mol/L per s. This aligns with the conventional definition of rate in kinetics.
In terms of dimensional analysis, rate r has units of (amount of substance) per (volume) per time, which is commonly written as mol·L^-1·s^-1 or simply concentration per time when considering concentration as mol/L. This supports the interpretation that concentration/time is the appropriate unit.
Option 4: "concentration/time" is the same as Option 3, but the presence of duplicates is unlikely in a standard multiple-choice design. However, since the question provides only three options and Option 3 already matches the conventional unit for a rate, the other phrasing does not introduce a different, correct unit.
Putting these together, the conventional reaction-rate unit is a concentration change per unit time, which makes the combination of concentration and time the appropriate descriptor. The other options either misrepresent the dimensional meaning of a rate or refer to a related but distinct concept (like a rate constant with inverse-time units) that does not itself specify the rate.

BIOC 440 A Lecture Concept Exercise | 12

Reaction rates have units of .

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

Consider the reaction, 2AsH3(g) → 2As(g) + 3H2(g) If the rate of formation of H2(g) is 0.090 mol·L—1·s—1, then the rate of formation of of As(g) is:

Given the following balanced equation, determine the rate of reaction with respect to [HCl]. H2(g) + Cl2(g) → 2 HCl(g)

According to the following reaction, disappearance rate of oxygen is 5.75 x 10-2 mol L-1 s-1. Determine formation rate of dinitrogen pentaoxide (g)? 4 NO2(g) + O2(g) → 2 N2O5(g)

The average rate of disappearance of ethane (C2H6) in the reaction, 2C2H6(g) + 7O2(g) → 4CO2(g) + 6H2O(g) is found to be 1.50 × 10–3 M·s–1 over a certain interval of time. What is the rate of appearance of H2O during this time interval?

The rate of disappearance of N2O5 is 3.6 x 10−4 M/s in the reaction below. What is the rate of appearance of NO2? 2 N2O5 → 4 NO2 + O2

If at a certain instant during the course of the reaction, 2NO2(g) + F2(g) → 2NO2F(g) the rate of the formation of the product were 0.16 mol·L–1·s–1, how fast would the F2(g) be disappearing (also in mol·L–1·s–1) at that same instant in time?

Consider the reaction: 4NO2 + O2 → 2N2O5 If N2O5 is being produced at a rate of 1.2 x 10-4 M/s, what is the rate at which NO2 is being consumed, in mol/(L.s)?

The rate of a reaction:

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler