Title: reaction path degeneracy
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - reaction path degeneracy
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.R05175
Status: current

Definition
A factor that is introduced into rate theory to take account of the fact that the process may be able to occur in different but equivalent ways. Thus the process:  has a reaction path degeneracy of 2 since the chlorine atom can abstract either of the two hydrogen atoms in the hydrogen molecule. The reaction path degeneracy has also been referred to as the statistical factor for the reaction.

Related Terms
- degeneracy: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/D01556
- reaction path: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/R05174

Source
- PAC, 1996, 68, 149. 'A glossary of terms used in chemical kinetics, including reaction dynamics (IUPAC Recommendations 1996)' on page 184 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199668010149)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/R05175/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/R05175/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/R05175/xml

Citation: Citation: 'reaction path degeneracy' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.R05175
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Accessed: 2026-08-09T21:07:43+00:00