The molecularity of a reaction refers to the number of molecules or species that participate as reactants in an elementary step of a reaction. It represents the number of molecular entities coming together to undergo a chemical transformation.
On the other hand, the order of a reaction is determined experimentally and represents the exponent or power to which the concentration of a reactant is raised in the rate law equation.
In some cases, the molecularity of a reaction can be the same as the order. For example, in a unimolecular elementary step, where only one molecule is involved, the molecularity and the reaction order would be the same.
However, in many cases, the molecularity of a reaction can be different from the reaction order. This occurs when the reaction involves multiple reactant molecules, but the rate-determining step or the overall rate expression does not depend directly on the concentrations of all the reactants.
Therefore, the correct answer is (4) May be the same or different as compared to the order. |
