Order (chemistry) - First Order

First Order

If a reaction rate depends on a single reactant and the value of the exponent is one, then the reaction is said to be first order. In organic chemistry, the class of SN1 (nucleophilic substitution unimolecular) reactions consists of first-order reactions. For example, in the reaction of aryldiazonium ions with nucleophiles in aqueous solution ArN2+ + X− → ArX + N2, the rate equation is r = k, where Ar indicates an aryl group.

Another class of first-order reactions is radioactive decay processes which are all first order. These are, however, nuclear reactions rather than chemical reactions.

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