The rate of a reaction is normally defined as the speed at which the chemical reaction occurs. (Chemistry, The central science. P621). The rate of reaction is expressed either by the concentration of the reactant consumed over time or the concentration of the product produced over a certain time. Where the rate of reaction would be as follows using the following reaction: C4H10O + HCl? C4¬H9Cl + H2ORate = -dC4H10O/dt = -dHCl/dt = dC4H9Cl/ dt = dH2O/dtThe rate of the reaction can also be expressed in the following;Rate = k C4H10OxHClyThe exponents on the concentrations are known as the rates order of the reaction with respect to each reactant, and k coefficient is known as the rate constant of the reaction. There are three types of rate orders; zeroth, first and the second-rate order. In this specific experiment we will ideally look at the first order reaction.

The first order reaction is a reaction which occurs at a rate that is dependent solely on the one concentration of any reactant in the reaction. (Atkins& Paula, p795).Factors that affect the rate of the reaction include, the physical state of the reactants, the reactant concentrations, the temperature at which the reaction occurs and the presence of a catalyst. (Chemistry, The central science. P614). The experiments were performed under controlled conditions, such that the temperature of the lab was kept constant, all reactants in the mixture were liquid, and the concentrations of majority of the reactants were kept constant expect that of Acetone, where for the second experiment the concentration was doubled.In the experiments performed, the reaction of the mixture, transferred into the conical flask and the Sodium Thiosulphate reacted in a 2:1 ratio and the balance equation for the reaction was represented as;2S2O32- (aq) + I2 (aq) ? S4O62- (aq) + 2I-(aq).