Are the Stoichiometric Coefficients in a Chemical Reaction Indication of the Kinetic Orders of the Reactants? An Inspiration to Chemistry Graduate Students

Y. Sharanya¹, N. Keerthana¹, V. Rajeswari¹, Sanjeev Rachuru², D. A. Padmavathi¹, V. Jagannadham^1, and G. Ramya Sree²

¹Department of Chemistry, Osmania University, Hyderabad-500007, India

²Department of Chemistry, St. Ann's College for Women, Mehdipatnam Hyderabad-500028, India

Cite this paper:
Y. Sharanya, N. Keerthana, V. Rajeswari, Sanjeev Rachuru, D. A. Padmavathi, V. Jagannadham and G. Ramya Sree. Are the Stoichiometric Coefficients in a Chemical Reaction Indication of the Kinetic Orders of the Reactants? An Inspiration to Chemistry Graduate Students. World Journal of Chemical Education. 2025; 13(4):103-106. doi: 10.12691/wjce-13-4-3

Abstract

It is a general tendency of the students and some of the teachers of chemistry that they conceive the stoichiometric coefficients of a balanced equation of a chemical reaction are the individual kinetic orders of those reactants involved in the rate equation of that reaction. But this is not true. The stoichiometric coefficients have nothing to do with individual kinetic orders of the reactants involved in the reaction or in the rate equation. A detailed explanation with a suitable example for this misconception is provided in the present article.

Keywords:
Stoichiometric coefficients Rate equation Rate law Order of a reaction

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