Home▸Chemistry & Materials▸Reaction Order and Half-Life Lab

⚗️ Reaction Order and Half-Life Lab

A 3D reaction vessel where reactant molecules convert to product over time following the zero-, first-, or second-order rate law you choose, with a live concentration-vs-time curve and half-life markers.

Chemistry & Materials3DAdvanced60 FPS

Reactant molecules in a 3D vessel convert to product exactly on the schedule set by a zero-, first-, or second-order rate law, while a live concentration-versus-time curve pins a marker at every half-life crossing.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Zero-order half-lives shrink as the reaction proceeds, first-order half-lives stay perfectly constant, and second-order half-lives double each time — the timeline rail beneath the vessel makes the gap between pins visibly shrink, hold steady, or stretch.

🎮 How to Use

Pick a reaction order, set the rate constant k and starting concentration, then watch the molecules turn from reactant (red) to product as the curve traces out. Switch context to relabel the same first-order math as radioactive decay.

💡 Did You Know?

Radiocarbon dating works only because radioactive decay is strictly first order: carbon-14's half-life is the same 5,730 years no matter how much of the isotope remains in a sample.

⚙ Under the hood

reaction-kineticschemical-rateshalf-lifezero-orderfirst-ordersecond-orderThree.js

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install