Question

(i) What is a rate determining step?

Hint:

In a reaction mechanism, the rate-determining step controls the speed of the overall reaction because it is the slowest step in the process.

Answer 1

The rate-determining step is the slowest step in a reaction mechanism. It limits the overall rate of the reaction because the rate of the entire reaction is governed by the rate of this step. In a multi-step reaction, the rate-determining step is the step with the highest activation energy or the slowest rate.