Derivation of the Integrated Rate Law for a First-Order Reaction
Derivation of the Integrated Rate Law for a First-Order Reaction A first-order reaction is one where the rate of reaction depends linearly on the concentration of one reactant. The general form of a first-order reaction is: A → Products A → Products The rate of the reaction can be expressed as: Rate = − d [ A ] d t = k [ A ] Rate = − d t d [ A ] = k [ A ] where: [ A ] [ A ] is the concentration of the reactant A A at time t t , k k is the rate constant of the reaction. To derive the integrated rate law, we rearrange the equation to separate variables: d [ A ] [ A ] = − k d t [ A ] d [ A ] = − k d t Now, integrate both sides. The left side is integrated with respect to [ A ] [ A ] , and the right side with respect to t t : ∫ d [ A ] [ A ] = − ∫ k d t ∫ [ A ] d [ A ] = − ∫ k d t This gives: ln [ A ] = − k t + C ln [ A ] = − k t + C where C C is the integration constant. To determine C C , we use the initial condition ...