Composite Reactions & the Steady State Approximation

BASIC PRINCIPLES

Hint

A unimolecular reaction is one which involves one molecule (or atom) in the elementary step.

The reaction N2O5 → NO2 + NO3 is an example of a unimolecular reaction, since it involves the decomposition of a single molecule of N2O5.

A bimolecular reaction is one which involves two molecules (or atoms) in the elementary step, and a termolecular reaction is one which involves three molecules (or atoms) in the elementary step.

Review Question

The reaction 2NO + O2 → 2NO2 is an example of a

Unimolecular Reaction

Bimolecular Reaction

Termolecular Reaction