Problem Library

Terror in the Toilet Bowl

Length: 1-3 Hours

Discipline: Chemistry

Level: Introductory (majors and non-majors)

Author: Groh, Susan

Type: Problem

Part 1 of the problem provides students with an opportunity (1) to learn how to derive the rate law of a mechanism from initial rate and concentration data, and (2) to learn what sort of information might be obtained from plotting concentration vs. time data from a kinetic experiment. In Part 2, students are asked to use the rate law they derived in evaluating several possible mechanisms for the reaction in question, leading to the discovery of rate laws for elementary reactions and the role of intermediates in mechanisms.

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