The Law of Mass Action

The Law of Mass Action states that the rate of a chemical reaction depends on the concentration of the reactants involved. Specifically, the more of each reactant present, the faster the reaction occurs. It also implies that at equilibrium—when the reaction balances out—the concentrations of reactants and products are related in a specific ratio. This law helps chemists predict how changing reactant amounts will influence the speed and direction of reactions, providing a quantitative understanding of chemical behavior based on the concentrations of substances involved.