Measuring Rates of Reaction

• The rate of a reaction can be observed either by how quickly the reactants are used up or how quickly the products are formed
• Rate of reaction = amount of energy used up or amount of product formed / time

  • This is the mean rate of reaction. To find the rate of a reaction at a particular time, you'll need to plot a graph and find the gradient at that time
• When the product or reactant is a gas you usually measure the amount in cm^3
• If it's a solid, you use grams (g)
• Time is often meaured in seconds (s)
• The units for rate may be in cm^3/s, in g/s or mol/s
• You can also measure the amount of product or reactant in moles (mol)