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JEE Main levelOne or more correct optionsDifficulty 2 of 3g3142

Which of the following consequences of the Hammond postulate are correct?

  1. AIn an exothermic step the transition state resembles the reactants.
  2. BIn an endothermic step the transition state resembles the products.
  3. CThe more exothermic a step is, the later (more product-like) its transition state.
  4. DThe postulate states that the rate of a step depends only on its .

Answer: A, B

The postulate links transition-state structure to the energetics of the step. The first two statements are its statements for exothermic and endothermic steps. The third is reversed, because a more exothermic step has an earlier transition state. The fourth is wrong because the rate depends on the activation energy, which is not fixed by alone.
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