First Order Reaction

Definition

A first order reaction is a type of chemical reaction where the rate of the reaction depends on the concentration of one reactant.

Related terms

Rate Law:

This is an equation that relates the rate of a reaction to the concentrations of its reactants. For first order reactions, it shows that rate is directly proportional to one reactant's concentration.

Half-Life:

In context of first order reactions, this refers to the time it takes for half of a given amount of reactant to be consumed.

Rate Constant:

This is a proportionality constant in the rate law which reflects how quickly or slowly a reaction occurs.