Chemical Kinetics Glossary

Minimum energy for a successful collision to form products.

k = Ae^(-Ea/RT); relates rate constant to temperature and Ea.

Increases rate by lowering Ea without being consumed.

Reactions need collisions with sufficient energy and proper orientation.

A single molecular-level event in a reaction mechanism.

Time for reactant concentration to halve.

Equation relating concentration to time for a given order.

Species produced in one step and consumed in a later step.

Technique using initial rate data to determine reaction orders.

Proportionality constant in a rate law; depends on T and Ea.

Rate as a function of concentrations: Rate = k[A]^m[B]^n.

Slowest elementary step; limits overall reaction rate.

Sequence of elementary steps converting reactants to products.

Exponent on concentration in rate law; determined experimentally.

Highest-energy configuration along reaction coordinate; activated complex.