Final answer:
Industrial chemists must know all steps of a chemical reaction to understand the reaction mechanism, control reaction rates for efficient and safe production, and ensure high yield and product quality.
Step-by-step explanation:
A chemist working in industry might need to know all the steps in a chemical reaction for several critical reasons:
- Understanding the reaction mechanism can indicate how individual atoms, ions, or molecules interact during a reaction to produce the desired products.
- Knowledge of the reaction rate is essential for determining the practicality of a chemical process in terms of production time and safety.
- A complete grasp of the reaction allows chemists to effectively control the yield and rate of a reaction, adapting it to industrial requirements for quantity and quality.
For example, an industrial chemist needs to ensure that the overall process is efficient, that it produces a high yield of product, and that it can be controlled to either speed up or slow down based on production needs.