Knowledge of the concepts introduced in Unit 2 will be assumed and extended in this section. Students should be able to:
5.4a recall that rates of reaction may be expressed by empirical rate equations of the form:
rate = k[A]m[B]n
, where m and n are 0, 1 or 2
5.4b define the terms rate constant and order of reaction and understand that these are
experimentally determined
· the concept of molecularity is not required
5.4c deduce rate equations from given experimental initial rate data
5.4d recall that reactions with a large activation energy will have a small rate constant
· students will be expected to be familiar with the Arrhenius equation but not to recall it
5.4e understand that many reactions take place in several steps, one of which will be the rate-determining
step
5.4f understand that it is sometimes possible to deduce information regarding the mechanism of
a chemical reaction from kinetic data
5.4g understand that many reactions proceed through a transition state
5.4h select and describe a suitable experimental technique for following a given reaction
5.4i present and interpret the results of kinetic measurements in graphical form
5.4j define the term half-life and recall that this is constant for any given first-order reaction.
· questions requiring a knowledge of the products of the radioactive decay will not be
asked.