Chemical kinetics diagramm -> chemical equation

[Lindsayyyy]

Hi everyone

Homework Statement

I got the three different diagramms (attached below) and I shall find a general chemical equation for all of them.

Homework Equations

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The Attempt at a Solution

I think I know how to do the third one, but I have troubles with the first and second one, because I have four different reactants. My thoughts for the third one are the following:

$$blue \xrightarrow{k_{1}} red \xrightarrow{k_{2}} yellow$$

whereas k2 is far bigger than k1 because the intermediates curve is low, which says that it reacts fast.

Can anyone approve this? Furthermore I need some hints for the first and second one. I'm absoulety not sure if I have something like red+yellow ->green or something like red->yellow->green

Thank you for your help in advance.

 

[Borek]

Looks to me like in the first case green is still produced long after all red disappeared, so b->r->y->g looks the most logical. I am not so sure about the second. Could be r<->y is easily reversible.

 

[epenguin]

The first and the last in the series are evident I hope, so the only problem is the middle two.

I can't see any way the second substance in the reaction sequence wouldn't peak before the third, can you?

For Borek's suggestion of reversibility, if by that he means the second an third substance are in rapid equilibrium then they would peak at the same time, in fact the two curves would be identical when one is multiplied by the right factor.

 

[Lindsayyyy]

Thanks to both of you, I think I understood it now a bit better.

 

[DeeNos]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and asking for help on this problem. Chemical kinetics diagrams can be tricky to interpret, but with some careful analysis and understanding of the underlying processes, we can determine the general chemical equation for each diagram.

For the first diagram, we see four reactants: A, B, C, and D. This suggests that the overall reaction is likely a combination of these four substances. We also see that A and B are consumed in the first step, while C and D are produced in the second step. This suggests that A and B are reactants, while C and D are products. Therefore, a possible general chemical equation for this diagram could be:

A + B -> C + D

For the second diagram, we see three reactants: X, Y, and Z. Similar to the first diagram, we can infer that these three substances are involved in the overall reaction. However, in this case, we see that X is consumed in the first step, while Y and Z are produced in the second step. This suggests that X is a reactant, while Y and Z are products. Therefore, a possible general chemical equation for this diagram could be:

X -> Y + Z

For the third diagram, we see a similar pattern to the first two diagrams, with two reactants and two products. However, in this case, we also see an intermediate step where the reactant (blue) is converted into a different substance (red) before being further converted into the final product (yellow). This suggests that the overall reaction involves a two-step process, with the intermediate substance (red) being formed and consumed in the first step before the final product (yellow) is formed in the second step. Therefore, a possible general chemical equation for this diagram could be:

blue -> red -> yellow

As for your thoughts on the third diagram, you are correct in your interpretation that k2 is larger than k1, indicating a faster reaction in the second step. However, I would also suggest considering the relative concentrations of the reactants and products in each step, as that can also affect the rate of the reaction.

I hope this helps guide you in finding the general chemical equations for these diagrams. Keep in mind that these are just possible equations and there may be other factors or steps involved that could change the overall reaction. It's important to carefully analyze the diagrams and all relevant information before determining the final equation.

Best of luck with