Composite Reactions & the Steady State Approximation

BASIC PRINCIPLES

Hint

For the general case, A + B → Product, the rate of the reaction is:

Rate a [A]α[B]β
where the overall order of the reaction is (α + β), the order with respect to (wrt) A is α and the order wrt B is β.

Example:

For the experimentally determined rate of reaction, r a [F•][H2], the order wrt F• is 1, the order wrt H2 is 1, and the overall order is therefore 1 + 1 = 2.

Review Question

For the experimentally determined rate of reaction, r a [NO]2[O2], it can be stated that

Overall Order = 1, Order wrt NO = 2, Order wrt O2 = 1

Overall Order = 2, Order wrt NO = 1, Order wrt O2 = 1

Overall Order = 2, Order wrt NO = 2, Order wrt O2 = 1

Overall Order = 3, Order wrt NO = 2, Order wrt O2 = 1