Rate Law Calculator

This calculator computes the rate of a chemical reaction from its rate law, the equation that links the reaction rate to the concentrations of the reactants. In chemical kinetics, the rate at which a reaction proceeds depends on how much of each reactant is present, raised to a power called the order with respect to that reactant. The rate law multiplies a rate constant by each reactant concentration raised to its order. The orders are found by experiment, not from the balanced equation, and they reveal how the rate responds to concentration: first order means doubling that reactant doubles the rate, second order means it quadruples it, and zero order means it has no effect. The sum of the orders is the overall order of the reaction. This tool computes the rate. You enter the rate constant and, for up to two reactants, the concentration and the order with respect to each, and the calculator returns the reaction rate, the overall order, the rate constant for reference, and a note on units. The results update as you type. Use it for chemistry study, for kinetics problems, or to predict how changing concentrations changes the rate. The rate is the rate constant times the first concentration to its order, times the second concentration to its order. Setting an order to zero removes that reactant's influence, since any concentration to the power zero is one. The overall order determines the units of the rate constant and the shape of the concentration-time behaviour. A reactant's order tells you the lever you have: to speed up a reaction most effectively, increase the concentration of the reactant with the highest order. Remember the orders come from experimental data, so use the measured values rather than the stoichiometric coefficients.

Rate = k x [A]^m x [B]^n. Orders come from experiment, not the balanced equation. Overall order = m + n. Set an order to 0 to ignore that reactant.