Reaction Mechanism and Rate Law
- The rate of a reaction can be no faster than the slowest step
- We cannot use the coefficients from a balanced, overall equation to determine the orders of a reaction
- Ex:
- Ex:
- We can use the coefficients from an elementary reaction determine the orders of a reaction
- Unimolecular:
- Bimolecular:
& 
- Molecularity greater than bimolecular has a very low probability of occurring
- Termolecular:
- Unimolecular: