Slow vs Fast Step

[Tiffany_Cacy_3D]

How do you tell which step in a multistep reaction is the slow step? Would we be given this information or is there a way to tell by the step itself? I am having trouble figuring out which step is the rate limiting step.

[Mindy Kim 4C]

Normally the problem will either tell you which step is the slow, rate determining step, or it will give you the reaction mechanism and the overall rate law for the reaction and you would have to determine from this information which step is the slow step.

[Searra Harding 4I]

The slow step is always the rate determining step. So the rate of this step will be the overall rate.

[anthony_trieu2L]

If the slow step is the not first step and contains and intermediate, you can assume the first step is at equilibrium and use the pre-equilibrium approach.

[Noh_Jasmine_1J]

the slow step usually has the same rate as the observed rate