AbstractStatistical mechanical methods can be used to relate not only structure and thermodynamics but also structure and kinetics. Methods are developed for calculating the crystal growth rate kinetic models. When the usual macroscopic thermodynamics are applied, the resulting surface energies, σ and σeextracted from the experimental growth rates are quite comparable to those obtained from kinetic models. However, when one applies small system thermodynamics, a substantially smaller σ is obtained. This latter assumption has the advantage of explaining why extended chain seed crystals do not promote crystal growth and why folded chain crystals grow on such seeds. The statistical mechanical methods in both of these cases predict the observed decrease in the rate constant,Kgwith decreasing molecular length without the necessity of a separate theory for varying σewith molecular len