Overview:

After discussing the statistical basis of the law of mass action, the lecture turns to developing a framework for understanding reaction rates. A potential energy surface that associates energy with polyatomic geometry can be realized physically for a linear, triatomic system, but it is more practical to use collective energies for starting material, transition state, and product, together with Eyring theory, to predict rates. Free-radical chain halogenation provides examples of predicting reaction equilibria and rates from bond dissociation energies. The lecture concludes with a summary of the semester's topics from the perspective of physical-organic chemistry.

Problem sets/Reading assignment:

Reading assignments, problem sets, PowerPoint presentations, and other resources for this lecture can be accessed from Professor McBride's on-campus course website, which was developed for his Fall 2008 students. Please see Resources section below.

Resources:

Professor McBride's web resources for CHEM 125 (Fall 2008)