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Chemistry · Ch 6 — Chemical Kinetics

Units of rate constant for the first order reaction

6.5.2

Units of rate constant for the first order reaction

The integrated rate law is

k=2.303t log⁡10[A]0[A]tk = \frac{2.303}{t}\,\log_{10}\frac{\mathrm{[A]_0}}{\mathrm{[A]_t}}

Because log⁡10[A]0[A]t\log_{10}\dfrac{\mathrm{[A]_0}}{\mathrm{[A]_t}} is a unitless quantity, the dimensions of kk will be (time)−1(\text{time})^{-1}. The units of kk will be s−1\mathrm{s^{-1}}, min−1\mathrm{min^{-1}} or (hour)−1(\text{hour})^{-1}. …