Lesson Plan

Lesson: First And Second Order Reaction

Aim :

To study first and second order reactions.

Learning Outcomes :

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to :

1. deduce that a reaction is a first or second order of reaction from its

concentration-time graph and the rate-concentration graph.

2. state the effect of doubling the concentration of a reactant on the rate of a first order
and second order reaction.

3. state the integrated form of the rate equations for a first and second order reaction.

Assumed prior knowledge :

Students should already be familiar with terms rate equation, rate constant and order of
reaction.

Underlying Principles

Enabling students to know what to look for.

Time taken to complete the activities : 80 minutes

Differentiation

Questions in the student notes are designed to enable all students to complete the activity.
The pop-up answers are provided for the students to view when they have considered their
responses. Worksheet questions include questions that require recall, understanding and
application of the new concepts learned.

© 2003 Ministry Of Education Malaysia. All Rights Reserved. Page 1 of 6

Development of Lesson :
No. Steps
1 Set Induction.
(Ascertaining prior
knowledge and
introducing lesson
topic for the day).
2 Student Activity
3 Evaluation
4 Extension activity
© 2003 Ministry Of Education Malaysia. All Rights Reserved.
Strategy Resources
• Teacher to quiz students to ensure that
they have the prior knowledge.
Teacher to get students to recall what
they have learnt about a zero order
reaction before introducing the lesson
objectives for the day.
Teacher to go through Activities 1 - 2 with • Courseware
the students.
• Activity 1 : First order reaction
Students get to investigate the shapes of
the concentration-time graph as well as
the rate-concentration graph for a first
order reaction. They are shown how the
rate of a first order reaction is affected by
an increase in concentration of the
reactant. Students get to view the
integrated form of the equation and are
taught the concept of half-life.
• Activity 2 : Second order reaction
Students get to investigate the same
concepts in Activity 1 for a second order
reaction.
• Students to answer questions in the • Worksheet
student worksheet on their own.
• Students to go through the extension • Websites
activities on their own. • Reference
books.
Page 2 of 6
Worksheet answers

1 First order reaction

1.1 a.
1

0.8
[P]/mol dm -3

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Tim e/s

b. First order

c. Rate = k[P]

0.693
d. t1/2 =
k
0.693
k = = 8.66 x 10-4 s-1
800 s

1.2 a.

1.6

1.4
Rate x 10 4 /mol dm -3 s -1

1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4
0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30
-3-3
[A ]/mol dm

© 2003 Ministry Of Education Malaysia. All Rights Reserved. Page 3 of 6

 b. First order

c. Rate = k[A]

d. 0.55 ( 6.02 x 1023 ) = 3.31 x 1023 molecules.

e. 0.55 = k(0.10)
0.55
k= = 5.5
0.10
Rate = 5.5(0.75) = 4.1 mol dm-3 s-1

1.3 a.
3

2.5
[ 2] x 103/mol dm -3

1.5

0.5

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Time/m in

b. The reaction is zero order.

The graph of iodine concentration against time is a straight line.
Thus, the rate of reaction with respect to iodine is a constant which means
that the rate is not dependent on the concentration of iodine.

c. R1 = k(0.1)1
R2 = k(0.01)1
R1 0. 1
= = 10
R2 0.01
The [H+] is increased by 10 times.
As the reaction is first order with respect to H+, the rate also increases
R
by 10 times. Hence, 1 = 10
R2

© 2003 Ministry Of Education Malaysia. All Rights Reserved. Page 4 of 6

1.4 a. The half-life of a reactant is the time taken for the concentration of the
reactant to fall to half of its original value.
1
b. After 6 min, concentration = (2.5) = 1.25 mol dm-3
2
1
After 12 min, concentration = (1.25) = 0.63 mol dm-3
2
1 1 1
c. 1
2 4 8
The time taken will be equal to 3 half-lives = 3 x 6.0 min = 18.0 min

1.5 a.

25
Rate of reaction (x 103 mol dm-3 s -1)

20

15

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
[H2O2]/mol dm
-3

The graph of rate against concentration is a straight line with a constant

gradient, thus the reaction is first order.

b. The slope of the line = 1.0

Thus, k = 1.0 x 10-3 s-1

0.693 0.693
c. Half-life = = = 693 s
k 1.0 x 10 - 3

© 2003 Ministry Of Education Malaysia. All Rights Reserved. Page 5 of 6

2. Second order reaction.

2.1 a. Rate = k[H ]2

b.
Initial concentration of H / Initial rate of decomposition/
mol dm-3 mol dm-3 s-1

1.0 x 10-3 0.5 x 10-7

2.0 x 10-3 2.0 x 10-7
3.0 x 10-3 4.5 x 10-7

c. Rate = k[H ]2

0.5 x 10-7 = k (1.0 x 10-3)2

0.5 x 10 -7
k= = 5.0 x 10-2 mol-1 dm3 s1
-3 2
(1.0 x 10 )

2.2 a. When the pressure is doubled, the volume is decreased by ½.

Hence, the concentration of the gas is doubled. The rate is increased
by 22 = 4 times. Therefore, the rate is now 4r.

b. When the volume is doubled, the concentration of the gas is halved

1 1
as the same amount of gas is used. The rate is now ( )2 = times
2 4
1
of the original rate. Therefore, the rate is now r.
4

© 2003 Ministry Of Education Malaysia. All Rights Reserved. Page 6 of 6