A reaction is second-order with respect to the reactant R. Which of the following plots will produce a straight line?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

For a second-order reaction with respect to R, the rate law can be written as:
rate = k[R]^2
Taking the reciprocal of both sides yields:
1/rate = 1/k[R]^2
Which can be rearranged to:
1/[R]^2 = kt + 1/[R]0^2
Plotting 1/[R] versus time will produce a straight line with a slope of k and an intercept of 1/[R]0^2.

A Reaction Is Second-Order with Respect to the Reactant R