Chapter 5.4
Reaction Mechanisms: From Steps to the Rate Law
A balanced equation says what went in and what came out, never how. The rate law is a fingerprint of the slowest step, and it can rule a proposed mechanism in or out.
in preparation · lesson 23 of 45
By the end
- 01Identify reactants, intermediates, products, and catalysts in a mechanism whose steps sum to the overall equation
- 02Derive the rate law when the first step is rate-determining
- 03Derive the rate law with the pre-equilibrium approximation when a fast step precedes the slow one
- 04Judge whether a mechanism is consistent with an experimental rate law