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Chemistry  /  Chem 1641  ·  Atom · ~20 seconds

The Stoichiometric-Coefficient Misreading of a Rate Law

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Copying a balanced equation's coefficients into a rate law's exponents is an error, since only an elementary step works that way.

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Writing rate = k[NO2][CO] for NO2 + CO → NO + CO2 from the coefficients alone contradicts the second-order-in-NO2 law measured below 225 °C.

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This shortcut fails for most reactions, which proceed through elementary steps an overall equation cannot reveal.

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