Final answer:
A reaction mechanism is a step-by-step sequence of elementary reactions that describe how a chemical change occurs. If a proposed mechanism predicts the wrong experimental rate law, it must be incorrect. The problem with the mechanism shown may lie in its inability to predict the correct experimental rate law.
Step-by-step explanation:
A reaction mechanism is a step-by-step sequence of elementary reactions that describe how a chemical change occurs. In chemistry, sometimes multiple mechanisms can be proposed that are consistent with the available data. However, if a proposed mechanism predicts the wrong experimental rate law, it must be incorrect.
The rate law of a reaction is determined experimentally and describes the relationship between the concentrations of reactants and the rate of the reaction. If the rate law obtained from experimental data does not match the rate law predicted by a single-step mechanism, it suggests that the single-step mechanism is incorrect.
Therefore, the problem with the mechanism shown may lie in its inability to predict the correct experimental rate law, indicating that it may not accurately represent the reaction that is occurring.