The initial rate of a chemical reaction is the instantaneous rate of reaction at time t=0. It is often the fastest rate the reaction will achieve. Calculating the initial rate is crucial for understanding reaction kinetics and can be determined experimentally or by using rate laws.
Initial Rate of Reaction Calculator
This calculator helps you determine the initial rate of a chemical reaction using the initial concentrations of reactants and the reaction order. The general form of a rate law is: Rate = k[A]^m[B]^n, where:
Rate is the reaction rate (typically in M/s or mol L-1 s-1)
k is the rate constant (units vary depending on the reaction order)
[A] and [B] are the molar concentrations of reactants A and B
m and n are the reaction orders with respect to reactants A and B
To calculate the initial rate, we need the rate constant (k) and the initial molar concentrations of all reactants involved in the rate-determining step.
M-(overall order – 1)s-1
M
M
function calculateInitialRate() {
var rateConstant = parseFloat(document.getElementById("rateConstant").value);
var reactantAConcentration = parseFloat(document.getElementById("reactantAConcentration").value);
var orderA = parseFloat(document.getElementById("orderA").value);
var reactantBConcentration = parseFloat(document.getElementById("reactantBConcentration").value);
var orderB = parseFloat(document.getElementById("orderB").value);
var resultDiv = document.getElementById("result");
resultDiv.innerHTML = ""; // Clear previous results
if (isNaN(rateConstant) || isNaN(reactantAConcentration) || isNaN(orderA) || isNaN(reactantBConcentration) || isNaN(orderB)) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Please enter valid numbers for all fields.";
return;
}
// Ensure concentrations are non-negative
if (reactantAConcentration < 0 || reactantBConcentration < 0) {
resultDiv.innerHTML = "Concentrations cannot be negative.";
return;
}
// Calculate the initial rate using the rate law: Rate = k[A]^m[B]^n
var initialRate = rateConstant * Math.pow(reactantAConcentration, orderA) * Math.pow(reactantBConcentration, orderB);
resultDiv.innerHTML = "