# Explain the formulation of the general second-order chemical reaction

The general form of a second-order reaction can be written in the form of aA+bB→cC+dD and it can also be expressed in the form of the following given equation:

Rate=k[A]x[B]y

In this above equation, k is a constant and [A] and [B] are the reactant concentration and the x and y are the order of the reactions which is determined by the experiments, no need to be confused with the stoichiometric coefficients a and b.

You can easily find the order of the reaction, which is the sum of the values of x and y. A reaction can be called the second-order if the sum of the value of x and y is 2 that is x+y=2. This can happen if both of the reactants are consumed linearly over time (rate=k[A]2)or one of them is consumed at a rate proportional to the square of the reactant concentration(rate=k[A]2).

The units of the rate constant,k, of a second-order reaction are M-1.s-1. The general form of a second-order reaction can be written in the following form

2A→Products

Or

A+B→Products.