The gas-phase reaction 2NO(g)+Br2(g)→2NOBr(g) has the experimentally determined rate law rate=k[NO]2[Br2]. Two chemists have offered competing proposals for the *rate-determining* elementary step.
(a) Write the rate law that each chemist’s proposed *rate-determining* step would predict, based solely on the stoichiometry of that step.
(b) Compare each predicted rate law from part (a) to the experimental rate law. Identify which chemist’s mechanism is kinetically consistent with the data.
(c) Even though the rate law predicted by Chemist 2 matches the experimental rate law, provide a molecular-level explanation for why a single elementary step involving 2NO and 1Br2 is generally less plausible than the sequence suggested by Chemist 1.