If the reaction Cl2 (g) + O3 (g) = Cl2O (g) + O2 (g) occurred in just two steps, what would be the overall order of the reaction be?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. not possible to determine from the information given
To determine the overall order of the reaction, we need to know the sum of the individual reaction orders for each step.
The given reaction occurs in two steps:
Step 1: Cl2 (g) + O3 (g) → Cl2O (g) + O2 (g)
Step 2: Step 1 (forward rate)
Let's assume the reaction orders for each step are a and b, respectively.
Now, in the first step, Cl2 (g) and O3 (g) are reacting to form Cl2O (g) and O2 (g). Since the overall rate of the reaction depends on the rate of the slowest step, let's consider Step 1. The rate of Step 1 will depend on the concentrations of Cl2 (g) and O3 (g). Therefore, the rate law for Step 1 would be:
Rate = k [Cl2]^(a) [O3]^(b)
It is given that the reaction Cl2 (g) + O3 (g) → Cl2O (g) + O2 (g) occurs in only two steps.
For an overall reaction order of n, the sum of the reaction orders from each step must add up to n. Therefore, the overall reaction order will be a + b.
From the given information, it is not possible to determine the values of a and b or the overall reaction order. Hence, the correct answer is e.