Femtosecond spectroscopy measurements are reported on the electron transfer, ET, reactions of the precursor states of the hydrated electron in the multiphoton ionization of water and the single-photon ionization of Fe(CN)(6)(4-) in aqueous solutions. The ET reaction corresponds to an electron scavenging by various electron acceptors, such as Cd2+. Using the data reported herein, and previously published data on the scavenging kinetics of other electron precursors (e.g., from radiolysis) and optically excited states of the hydrated electron, it was shown that the rate constant of ET varies inversely with the volume of specific form of the hydrated electron. These data strongly support a unified model for the electron-transfer kinetics of many forms of delocalized electrons with localized electron acceptors in which ET rates are assumed to be proportional to the average electron density of the specific hydrated electron excited state or precursor.