Answer:
The order of a chemical reaction is a measure of the dependence of the rate of the reaction on the concentration of one or more of the reactants. In other words, it describes how the rate of the reaction changes as the concentration of one or more reactants changes.
There are three main types of order of reactions:
- Zero-order reactions: The rate of a zero-order reaction is independent of the concentration of reactants. The rate is constant and the reaction rate is given by k (the rate constant)
- First-order reactions: The rate of a first-order reaction is directly proportional to the concentration of one reactant. The rate of reaction is given by k [A], where [A] is the concentration of reactant A.
- Second-order reactions: The rate of a second-order reaction is directly proportional to the concentration of two reactants. The rate of reaction is given by k [A] [B], where [A] and [B] are the concentrations of reactants A and B.
It's important to note that the order of a reaction is not the same as the stoichiometry of a reaction, which describes the ratio of reactants and products in a chemical equation.