Abstract
Starting with four reaction equations which are at least necessary to describe the copolymerization of two monomers, equations for the kinetics and the molecular weight regulation with and without hydrogen are derived. The equations are used to evaluate the results of the copolymerization of ethylene and 1‐butene. The numerical values of the reactivity ratios r differ by approximately 3 orders of magnitude, but do not depend on whether the molecular weight is regulated by hydrogen or not. The rate of polymerization is scarcely influenced even by great amounts of 1‐butene. It depends nearly completely on the concentration of ethylene. On the other hand the comonomer enormously influences the average molecular weight of the copolymer. This influence increases with hydrogen content.