Molecularity describes the number of reactant molecules involved in an elementary reaction. It is crucial for understanding the step-by-step mechanism of a chemical reaction.
5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
Molecularity can be unimolecular, bimolecular, or termolecular, corresponding to one, two, or three reactant molecules respectively.
An elementary reaction with molecularity greater than three is extremely rare due to the improbability of four or more molecules simultaneously colliding.
Molecularity is always a whole number since it represents discrete entities (molecules).
The rate law for an elementary reaction can be directly derived from its molecularity.
Molecularity differs from order of reaction; molecularity applies only to elementary reactions while the order can apply to complex reactions.