What is the molecularity of the rate-determining step for a reaction with rate law: Rate = (5.00 x 10^-5 min^-1)[A]^2?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking to determine the molecularity of the rate-determining step for a reaction, given the rate law: Rate = (5.00 x 10^-5 min^-1)[A]^2. To find the molecularity, sum the exponents of the reactants in the rate-determining step.
Answer
The molecularity is 2.
The molecularity of the rate-determining step is 2, because the reaction rate is proportional to the square of the concentration of reactant A.
Answer for screen readers
The molecularity of the rate-determining step is 2, because the reaction rate is proportional to the square of the concentration of reactant A.
More Information
Molecularity refers to the number of molecules that come together in an elementary step of a reaction mechanism. For a rate-determining step, the molecularity is determined directly from the order of the reactants in the rate law.
Tips
A common mistake is confusing the overall reaction order with the molecularity of the rate-determining step. The rate law only reflects the composition of the activated complex in the slowest step.
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