NMAT Chemistry Practice Test

The rate of a reaction at a specific moment is the instantaneous rate. It is the slope of the concentration-versus-time curve at that exact moment, or, in calculus terms, the derivative of concentration with respect to time (often written as -d[A]/dt). This value can change as the reaction proceeds because reactant concentrations are changing, so the driving force for the reaction—and thus the rate—can increase or decrease over time. In practice, you determine it by looking at the tangent to the concentration–time plot at that moment or by evaluating the rate law with the current concentrations. The rate law describes how the rate depends on concentrations (and possibly other factors) and gives a relationship to calculate the rate, but the instantaneous rate is the actual numerical rate at a specific time. A catalyst, while it speeds up the reaction by providing a lower-energy pathway, changes the rate constant but is not itself a rate measured at an instant. The activated complex is the transient high-energy state in the transition from reactants to products, not a rate.