17.7Reaction Mechanisms
Section · module m68794
What this needs
Learn these first — this section will not make sense without them.
The Check Your Learning answer [F] = (k₁[F₂]/k₋₁)^(1/2) comes from taking a square root of both sides of k₁[F₂] = k₋₁[F]² — a rational-exponent move that surfaces whenever a pre-equilibrium step is bimolecular in the intermediate rather than the reactant, and a student who forgets the square root leaves [F] squared instead of linear.
What this touches
Algebra that turns up here. Not a blocker, but this is where you will see it used.
- Applies2.4Models and Applications
Setting the fast pre-equilibrium step's forward and reverse rates equal, k1[NO][Cl2] = k-1[NOCl2], and solving for the intermediate, [NOCl2] = (k1/k-1)[NO][Cl2], is done entirely in symbols — no numbers appear anywhere in this derivation — exactly the solve-a-formula-for-a-specified-variable move, here used to eliminate an unmeasurable reaction intermediate rather than to find a named physical quantity from given data.