A chemical reaction involving the interaction of two substances A and B to form a new compound X is called a second order reaction. In such cases it is observed that the rate of reaction (or the rate at which the new compound is formed) is proportional to the product of the remaining amounts of the two original substances. If a molecule of A and a molecule of B combine to form a molecule of X (i.e., the reaction equation is A + B ⮕ X), then the differential equation describing this specific reaction can be expressed as: dx/dt = k(a-x)(b-x) where k is a positive constant, a and b are the initial concentrations of the reactants A and B, respectively, and x(t) is the concentration of the new compound at any time t. Assuming that no amount of compound X is present at the start, obtain a relationship for x(t). What happens when t ⮕∞?
A chemical reaction involving the interaction of two substances A and B to form a new compound X is called a second order reaction. In such cases it is observed that the rate of reaction (or the rate at which the new compound is formed) is proportional to the product of the remaining amounts of the two original substances. If a molecule of A and a molecule of B combine to form a molecule of X (i.e., the reaction equation is A + B ⮕ X), then the differential equation describing this specific reaction can be expressed as:
dx/dt = k(a-x)(b-x)
where k is a positive constant, a and b are the initial concentrations of the reactants A and B, respectively, and x(t) is the concentration of the new compound at any time t. Assuming that no amount of compound X is present at the start, obtain a relationship for x(t). What happens when t ⮕∞?
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