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The rate of a reaction is the change in concentration of reactants or products with time. The extent of a reaction is the amount of reactants that have been converted to products at a given time. Both of these are important for chemical engineers because they need to be able to control the rate and extent of reactions in order to produce large volumes of an important chemical. The rate of a reaction can be controlled by changing the temperature, pressure, or concentration of the reactants. The extent of a reaction can be controlled by changing the stoichiometry of the reaction or by adding a catalyst. By understanding the rate and extent of reactions, chemical engineers can design processes that will produce the desired amount of product in the desired amount of time.