Nitric oxide, NO(g), reacts with chlorine gas in the overall reaction
NO(g) + 0.5 Cl₂(g) → NOCl(g).
A student hypothesizes that this process occurs in a single elementary collision.
Answer the following about this proposal.
(a) Write the rate law that would be expected if the reaction proceeded through one elementary step exactly matching the overall stoichiometry shown above.
(b) Explain, with reference to the definition of an elementary reaction, why the coefficients you wrote in part (a) appear as exponents in the rate law.
(c) Identify the molecularity of the hypothesized elementary step and discuss whether such a collision is considered likely or unlikely under typical gas-phase conditions. Provide two distinct pieces of reasoning to support your judgment.