See the article on zero-order reactions for the derivation of this law)
Notice, however, that this model is not entirely accurate because this equation predicts negative concentrations at sufficiently large times. In other words, if one were to graph the concentration of A as a function of time, at some point, the line would cross the x-axis. This is physically impossible because concentrations cannot be negative. Nevertheless, this model is a sufficient model for ranges of time where concentration is predicted to be greater than zero.
The half life (t1/2) of a reaction is the time required for the concentration of the radioactive substance to decrease to one-half of its original value. The half-life of a zero-order reaction can be derived as follows:
For a reaction involving reactant A and from the definition of a half-life, t1/2 is the time it takes for half of the initial concentration of reactant A to react. These new conditions can be substituted into the integrated rate law form to obtain the following: