For reaction with order n, the unit of rate constant is M 1-n s-1 (or) L (-1+n) mol (1-n) s-1. Rate Law. The integral rate equation for second-order reactions is:, Consequently, doubling the concentration of A quadruples the reaction rate. For the units of the reaction rate to be moles per liter per second (M/s), the units of a second-order rate constant must be the inverse (M −1 ·s −1). Because the units of molarity are expressed as mol/L, the unit of the rate constant can also be written as L(mol·s)., The rate increases four times when we double the concertation of A. So, remember, in second-order reactions, the rate is proportional to the square of the concentration of the reactant which is why it is squared in the integrated rate law. The Units of Rate Constant, k for a Second-Order Reaction. Most often, the reaction rate shows how the , The two most common forms of second-order reactions will be discussed in detail in this section. To describe how the rate of a second-order reaction changes with concentration of reactants or products, the differential (derivative) rate equation is used as well as the integrated rate equation., Reaction orders also play a role in determining the units for the rate constant k. In Example \(\PageIndex{2}\), a second-order reaction, we found the units for k to be \(\mathrm{L\:mol^{-1}\:s^{-1}}\), whereas in Example \(\PageIndex{3}\), a third order reaction, we found the units for k to be mol −2 L 2 /s. More generally speaking, the , If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked..