Which statement best defines a reaction intermediate in a multistep mechanism?
CHEMISTRY · Single correct · A Level · Chemistry · Introduction to organic chemistry · Introduction to organic chemistry
Problem
Which statement best defines a reaction intermediate in a multistep mechanism?
(a) A short-lived, high-energy arrangement of atoms that exists at the peak of the potential-energy diagram and cannot be isolated.
(b) A species that is produced in one elementary step and consumed in a later step, never appearing in the overall balanced equation.
(c) A species that speeds up a reaction by lowering the activation energy and is regenerated unchanged at the end.
(d) A species that is produced in one step and remains in the reaction mixture, appearing in the overall balanced equation.