5.2 Introduction to Rate Law

Measuring Rates

In the history of chemistry, chemists have measured the rate of reaction through experiments. This can be done by using spectroscopy, where the reactants and products have different molar absorptivities, creating different absorbance values depending on how many reactants or products there are. Other common methods include pressure, in which different amounts of moles of reactant and products change the pressure, or conductivity, where the difference in conduction between the reactants and products allow for their rates of change over time to be calculated.