5.5 - HL: Unveiling the Pathway: Reaction Mechanisms and the Rate Determining Step
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Practice Questions
Test your understanding with targeted questions
What is an elementary step?
💡 Hint: Think about the individual actions that contribute to the overall reaction.
Define intermediates.
💡 Hint: They are created and consumed during the reaction sequence.
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Interactive Quizzes
Quick quizzes to reinforce your learning
What is the rate-determining step?
💡 Hint: Consider which step controls the pace of the entire process.
True or False: Intermediates appear in the overall balanced equation.
💡 Hint: Think about the lifecycle of intermediates in the reaction.
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Challenge Problems
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Consider a reaction where A + B → C occurs in two steps: Step 1 is A + B → D (slow) and Step 2 is D → C (fast). Write the rate expression and explain why the first step is rate-determining.
💡 Hint: Focus on the rate of the first step and how it influences the overall reaction.
A proposed mechanism for a reaction is: Step 1 (fast): A + B ↔ C (intermediate), Step 2 (slow): C + D → E. Derive the overall rate expression and give reasons for the steps identified.
💡 Hint: Remember that the RDS determines how we express the rate.
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