CHEM 1001 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Smog, Activation Energy, Ideal Gas Law
11 Jan 2018
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Document Summary
The steady-state approximation: intermediate species are produced by some elementary reactions and consumed by others. At steady-state, the rate of production is balanced by the rate of consumption. Deciding between mechanisms: stoichiometry and overall rate law are determined by experiment. If a mechanism predicts the wrong stoichiometry, it is wrong. If a mechanism predicts the wrong rate law, it is wrong. If a mechanism predicts the correct stoichiometry and the correct rate law, it might be correct (it is plausible). Sometimes we have more than one plausible mechanism. Additional experiments are needed to decide between them. Reaction mechanisms summary: a reaction mechanism consists of a sequence of elementary reactions that are either unimolecular or bimolecular. For elementary reactions, reaction orders are the same as the stoichiometric coefficients of the reactants. A plausible mechanism is one that agrees with all experimental data including the rate law and the stoichiometry of the overall reaction.
