What is the formula for calculating reaction rates?

The formula for calculating reaction rates is Rate = k[A]^x[B]^y, where k is the rate constant, and x and y are the orders of reaction.

In more detail, the rate of a chemical reaction is calculated using the rate equation, which is typically expressed as Rate = k[A]^x[B]^y. In this equation, 'Rate' is the speed at which the reaction occurs, 'k' is the rate constant, '[A]' and '[B]' represent the concentrations of the reactants, and 'x' and 'y' are the orders of reaction with respect to reactants A and B respectively.

The rate constant 'k' is a proportionality constant that is specific to a particular reaction at a particular temperature. It can be determined experimentally. The orders of reaction 'x' and 'y' are usually small whole numbers (0, 1, or 2) that indicate how the rate of reaction is affected by the concentration of the reactants. For example, if x is 1, the reaction is first order with respect to reactant A, meaning the rate of reaction is directly proportional to the concentration of A. If x is 2, the reaction is second order with respect to A, meaning the rate of reaction is proportional to the square of the concentration of A.

The overall order of the reaction is the sum of the individual orders (x + y). This tells us how the rate of reaction changes when the concentrations of all reactants change. For instance, if the overall order of reaction is 2, doubling the concentration of all reactants will quadruple the rate of reaction.

Remember, the rate equation and the orders of reaction cannot be predicted from the balanced chemical equation for the reaction - they must be determined experimentally.