Terror in the Toilet Bowl
Length: 1-3 Hours
Discipline: Chemistry
Level: Introductory
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.