Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Undergraduate General Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: Apollo on April 12, 2007, 08:28:26 PM
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I have a few questions in my chemistry review that I'm not quite sure what they mean. The question asks:
Determine the molecularity and write the rate law for each of these elementary steps:
a) X ---> products
Can someone explain to me what they are asking for?
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Firstly consider the definitions:
An elementary reaction is one that takes place in a single step, which does not involve the formation of any reaction intermediate.
Molecularity of an elementary reaction is a method of classifying the reaction in terms of the number of reactants species that take part
so for your reaction x----> products
it is an elementary reaction because it is a single step, no intermediate formed.
and the molecularity is one (unity) since there is only reactant species (x)
the rate law would then be:
v=k(x)
where k is the first order rate constant and (x) is the concentration of species x.
hope this is a bit clearer now
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that makes sense :) thank you for clearing that up for me