Chemical Thinking / Optimization lab← Back to extrema lesson

Find the best point you can reach.

A constraint limits the choices. Move along the gold line, watch the objective change, and find where its slope along that line becomes zero.

Two reactants · fixed total

How should the concentration be divided?

q = [A][B] · [A]+[B] = C
Constrained extrema visualizationLeft: an objective contour map with a constraint line and moving point. Right: the objective restricted to that line.
allowed choicesobjective / ∇fcurrent point and tangent
2.00 M

Both examples are teaching models. Encounter factor [A][B] is proportional to an ideal elementary bimolecular rate when the rate constant is fixed; bond strain uses two harmonic springs in reduced units. Endpoint choices remain part of the comparison.