Correlating the Mechanism with the Rate Law
1. The elementary steps must add up to the overall equation.
2. The elementary steps must be physically reasonable.
3. The mechanism must correlate with the rate law.
Chemical mechanisms can never be proven
unequivocally! But potential chemical mechanisms
can be eliminated based on experimental data.
Three Key Criteria for Elementary Steps
| Previous slide | Next slide | Back to first slide | View graphic version |