ERIC Number: EJ825621
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-2479
EISSN: N/A
Quick and Easy Rate Equations for Multistep Reactions
Savage, Phillip E.
Chemical Engineering Education, v42 n4 p211-217 Fall 2008
Students rarely see closed-form analytical rate equations derived from underlying chemical mechanisms that contain more than a few steps unless restrictive simplifying assumptions (e.g., existence of a rate-determining step) are made. Yet, work published decades ago allows closed-form analytical rate equations to be written quickly and easily for arbitrarily large multistep reaction mechanisms (catalyzed or uncatalyzed) that meet a few common criteria. This approach to writing general rate equations was developed by using linear algebra to solve the set of n simultaneous algebraic equations that arise from application of the quasi-stationary-state approximation to the n reactive intermediates in the reaction system. This article describes the methods, illustrates their application, and discusses the author's experience teaching these techniques. (Contains 3 figures and 1 table.)
Descriptors: Equations (Mathematics), Algebra, Teaching Methods, Computation, Problem Solving, Chemical Engineering, Science Instruction, College Science, Computer Assisted Instruction
Chemical Engineering Education, Chemical Engineering Division of ASEE. P.O. Box 142097, Gainesville FL 32614. Tel: 352-392-0861; Fax: 352-392-0861; e-mail: cee@che.ufl.edu; Website: http://cee.che.ufl.edu/index.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A