For non-organic chemistry master students
In the first chapter, we look at a question: ‘How fast does a reaction proceed?’ Straightaway, we make assumptions.
Firstly, we need to know whether the reaction under study can occur: there is no
point in looking at how fast it is not going if a reaction is not thermodynamically
feasible! So we first assume the reaction can and does occur.
Secondly, we assume that reactions can be treated according to their type, so ‘reaction order’ is introduced and discussed in terms of the way in which concentrations vary with time in a manner that characterizes that order.
Finally, the associated energy changes of reaction are discussed in terms of the
thermodynamic laws learnt from previous chapters. Catalysis is discussed briefly
from within this latter context.
