Intermediates in rate laws

[Melody Haratian 2J]

Why can’t you have intermediates in rate laws?

[Josh Chou 3K]

We don't include intermediates in rate laws because they are produced and consumed in consecutive elementary steps of a chemical reaction, which means that they will cancel themselves out because they'll be on the reactant side of one step and then on the product side of another step.

[Katie Nye 2F]

Intermediates do not affect the rate because they are produced and then used up. They are not a significant part of the equation as a whole.

[Edgar Velazquez 2K]

Intermediates aren't included because they aren't a part of either the reactants or products of the reaction of interest. They are produced by one partial reaction, but later used up as part of another partial reaction. You can think of intermediates as being found in both the reactants and products of two reactions you're trying to put together. Since they're found on both sides in the same form, you can cancel them out of the whole reaction even thought they exist in the two separate partial reactions.