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Q.What are average and instantaneous rates of a reaction ?

Bihar BsebBihar Board Intermediate 2022Subjective· 2mImportance★★★★★
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Average rate = concentration change over a finite time interval (Δ[ ]/Δt); instantaneous rate = the rate at one particular moment (d[ ]/dt), the slope of the concentration–time graph at that point.

Average rate of reaction:

  • It is the change in concentration of a reactant or product over a definite (finite) interval of time.
  • For a reaction R → P: Average rate = −(Δ[R])/(Δt) = +(Δ[P])/(Δt) where Δ[R] is the decrease in reactant concentration and Δ[P] is the increase in product concentration over the time interval Δt. (The minus sign makes the rate positive because [R] decreases.)
  • It gives only an overall value for the interval; the actual rate changes continuously during the reaction, so the average is not the rate at any single moment.

Instantaneous rate of reaction:

  • It is the rate of the reaction at a particular instant of time.
  • It is obtained by making the time interval Δt very small (approaching zero), i.e. by taking the derivative: Instantaneous rate = −(d[R])/(dt) = +(d[P])/(dt) …

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