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Chapter 14: Problem 41

What is the molecularity of a reaction?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The molecularity of a reaction refers to the number of molecules that participate in a single elementary reaction. It affects the speed of reaction and can be unimolecular, bimolecular or termolecular.

Step by step solution

01

Definition of Molecularity

Molecularity of a reaction in chemistry refers to the number of molecular entities (or molecules) that participate in a single elementary (single step) reaction. It can either be unimolecular, bimolecular, or termolecular which involves one, two, or three molecules respectively.
02

Details and Implications

Molecularity has an effect on the speed of reaction. For instance, bimolecular reactions are often faster than unimolecular reactions because the former involve two molecules and hence have more chances of interaction. Though termolecular reactions involve three molecules, they are less common due to low probability of three molecules colliding simultaneously.
03

Examples

As examples of different molecularities: (1) The decomposition of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) into nitrogen monoxide (NO) and oxygen (O) is a bimolecular reaction, because two molecules of NO2 are involved. (2) The conversion of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to nitrogen monoxide (NO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) is a termolecular reaction, because three molecules are involved.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Given the same concentrations, the reaction $$ \mathrm{CO}(g)+\mathrm{Cl}_{2}(g) \longrightarrow \mathrm{COCl}_{2}(g) $$ at \(250^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) is \(1.50 \times 10^{3}\) times as fast as the same reaction at \(150^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\). Calculate the energy of activation for this reaction. Assume that the frequency factor is constant.

Explain why termolecular reactions are rare.

What is the half-life of a compound if 75 percent of a given sample of the compound decomposes in 60 min? Assume first-order kinetics.

The thermal decomposition of phosphine \(\left(\mathrm{PH}_{3}\right)\) into phosphorus and molecular hydrogen is a first-order reaction: $$ 4 \mathrm{PH}_{3}(g) \longrightarrow \mathrm{P}_{4}(g)+6 \mathrm{H}_{2}(g) $$ The half-life of the reaction is 35.0 s at \(680^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\). Calculate (a) the first-order rates constant for the reaction and (b) the time required for 95 percent of the phosphine to decompose.

“The rate constant for the reaction $$ \mathrm{NO}_{2}(g)+\mathrm{CO}(g) \longrightarrow \mathrm{NO}(g)+\mathrm{CO}_{2}(g) $$ is \(1.64 \times 10^{-6} / M \cdot \mathrm{s} .\)." What is incomplete about this statement?
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