the types of dynamic behavior possible for a single first order reaction carried out in a
stirred tank reactor are classified according to values of the parameters and plots in parameter space used to define the various possibilities. Analytic criteria are developed which predict the existence and stability character of limit cycles as a function of the system parameters. The types of dynamic behavior predicted are illustrated by numerical computation of the temperature and concentration trajectories. Several kinds of new jump phenomena for this problem are observed and explained in terms of the parameter space plots. The theory and analysis methods can be easily generalized to other types of reaction systems.