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Rate Laws Come From Experiment, Not Stoichiometric Coefficients

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A rate law's reaction orders are determined by experiment, never predicted from an equation's stoichiometric coefficients.

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For NO2 + CO → NO + CO2, the measured rate law below 225 °C is second order in NO2 and zero order in CO, though coefficients equal one.

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Matching an order to its coefficient is coincidence for an overall equation — only experiment establishes it.