Thermodynamics and Kinetics

[Kyle Walsh 2J]

Hi, so I know that there is an intersection between thermodynamics and kinetics, because both determine whether or not a reaction happens, but I'm still confused conceptually on what exactly this means, and when which is used. Prof. Lavelle briefly mentioned it in the beginning of the kinetics section, and I figure it could be helpful to know for the final. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

[Savana Maxfield 3F]

Hi! I believe that thermodynamics refers to the behavior and equilibrium of a system, while kinetics refers to the rate and the pathway at which a particular process will occur. Hope this helps!

[Rachael Cohen 3G]

I think that Thermodynamics refers more to the laws of thermodynamics that we learned regarding enthalpy and entropy. This involves the behavior of a system and its equilibrium. The constants we learn such as deltaH, deltaG, and deltaS are state functions, so the pathway taken to get from from the initial to the final value doesn't matter. Kinetics is about this pathway, looking at the steps taken for a reaction to occur and the rate at which they occur. Hope this helps!

[Manseej Khatri 2B]

Hi. I believe the intersection is that at equilibrium, the forward rate and the reverse rate are the same so you can relate the ratio of the forward rate and reverse rate to the equilibrium constant. The equilibrium constant gives information about the states of the products and reactants which explain the thermodynamics.