What is the molecularity of each of the following elementary reactions? Write the rate law for each. (b)

Key Concepts

Molecularity

Molecularity refers to the number of reactant molecules involved in an elementary reaction. It can be classified as unimolecular (one molecule), bimolecular (two molecules), or termolecular (three molecules). Understanding molecularity is crucial for determining how the reaction rate depends on the concentration of reactants.

Elementary Reaction

An elementary reaction is a single step process in a chemical reaction mechanism where reactants convert directly to products. The rate law for an elementary reaction can be directly derived from its molecularity, as the rate is proportional to the concentration of the reactants raised to the power of their coefficients in the balanced equation.

Rate Law

The rate law expresses the relationship between the rate of a chemical reaction and the concentration of its reactants. It is typically formulated as rate = k[A]^m[B]^n, where k is the rate constant, and m and n are the orders of the reaction with respect to reactants A and B. For elementary reactions, the rate law reflects the stoichiometry of the reaction.