So far we have completely neglected back reactions. Thus the validity
of the solutions obtained so far is limited to ``initial" rates which
are those seen experimentally just following the mixing of reactants.
Now consider the elementary reactions
with ``forward'' rate
constant
and
with ``backward'' rate
constant
. In the simple case of a first order reaction in
both directions, the solution valid for all times is easy to obtain.
The rate law is
where kf is the rate constant for the forward reaction and kb for
the back reaction. From mass balance, we have
which can be used to eliminate [C](t). The solution can then be
found by typing
 | {[Clear[a,a0,c0,kb,kf];
DSolve[{a'[t] == -kf*a[t] + kb*(c0 + a0 - a[t]), a[0]==a0}, a[t], t]} |
Q: Determine the equilibrium concentration of A from the
mathematical expression for the function. Plot and verify your answer
by comparing with the exact alegbric results for the equilibrium
consant (in terms of the rate constants) and the law of mass action.
Hannes Jonsson
Modified by Thomas L. Marchioro II
and the Undergraduate Computational Engineering and Science project