Overall rate law

[Petrina Kan 2I]

I am confused as to why the overall rate law is the rate law of just the slowest step. I understand why the slow step must determine the rest of it, but why are the species in the other steps not included in the overall rate law?

[Kevin Xu 4F]

I think this is because this is a very simplified model and way of looking at reactions. Here, we assume an all or nothing approach to reaction processes where the reaction either proceeds to completion or does not proceed at all. This is a result of the activation energies of the reaction, and the slowest step determines if the reaction proceeds because it has the highest activation energy. As a result of this factor, the reaction mechanisms are thus dictated and simplified to only the slowest step.

[305385703]

Since this step is the slowest, then the rate of the entire reaction depends on it. Thus, only the concentrations of this reaction intermediate contribute to the overall reaction rate.

[Elizabeth Harty 1A]

I think its because the entire reaction depends on the slowest step.

[Maria Poblete 2C]

Like someone said before, it's essentially an all or nothing kind of behavior. Someone explained it to me in a helpful analogy: if you're hiking with a group of people, the slowest person in the group determines the pace of their hike. The other people, no matter how fast they are, must keep the pace of the slowest person in order to stick together as a group. Hope this helps!

[805422680]

The slow step is considered the rate determining step. That means that the rate of the entire reaction is determined by that step. Imagine you are walking up a hill as a group, the slowest member of the group is the rate determining step

[Naneeta Desar 1K]

The whole reaction depends on the slow step.

[Nawal Dandachi 1G]

Because it is the slowest reaction, it is the "rate determining step" and the overall reaction would depend on it.

[Matt Sanruk 2H]

Since its the slowest step, this step is going to be the one that is the most prominent in determining the overall rate since the rate is at this slow rate most of the time.