AP Chemistry : Chemical Equilibrium

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Chemistry

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Example Questions

Example Question #71 : Reactions And Equilibrium

Consider the following balanced chemical equation:

 

What will be the effect on the concentration of  if the overall pressure of the system increases, but the volume remains constant? Why?

Possible Answers:

The concentration of  will decrease because of added heat

The concentration of  will increase because of added heat

There will be no effect on  because the number of molecules of gas is the same on both sides

The concentration of  will decrease because that will counteract the increased pressure

The concentration of  will increase because that will counteract the increased pressure

Correct answer:

The concentration of  will increase because of added heat

Explanation:

To answer this question we need to combine our knowledge of a few different subjects. Under normal cicrumstances, when determining the effects of a system pressure change, we compare the number of moles of gas on either side of the equilibrium. In this case, there are 2 moles of gas on either side, which means that neither side is favored in terms of pressure changes.



However, we consider that in this case, the pressure is increasing while the volume remains constant. Since the total moles of gas cannot be changed in a closed system, we have to conclude that increased pressure results in increased temperature. If  is greater than , then  must also be greater than .

Since this reaction is exothermic, increasing the temperature (i.e. adding heat) causes the reaction to shift to the left; therefore, the concentration of  increases.

Example Question #11 : Le Chatelier's Principle

Consider the following reaction: 

What will happen to the equilibrium constant if the concentration of  is increased? Why?

Possible Answers:

Nothing, because the equilibrium constant is not affected by concentration changes

The equilibrium constant will decrease because the reaction will shift towards the reactants

None of the other answers

The equilibrium constant will increase because the concentration of  has increased

The equilibrium constant will go through an unclear change because it is temperature dependent

Correct answer:

The equilibrium constant will go through an unclear change because it is temperature dependent

Explanation:

By Le Chatelier's principle, when a concentration on the right side increases, the reaction shifts towards the left side in order to balance out the disturbance to equilibrium. In doing so, heat will be consumed along with , which will lower the temperature of the system. Since the equilibrium constant is temperature dependent its value will change, but without experimental observation it is not entirely clear how it will change. 

It is true that concentration changes normally do not affect the equilibrium constant, but because in this case temperature is affected by concentration changes, that rule does not hold. 

Example Question #11 : Le Chatelier's Principle

Anaerobic respiration is a very important process for humans; both in the sense of survival (in humans: lactic acid fermentation), and in the sense of recreation (the utilization of yeast to produce ethanol from glucose under anaerobic conditions). The following is the balanced chemical equation for the production of ethanol from glucose as is employed in the production of wine and beer:

This reaction is exothermic, and is therefore used by yeast to provide energy.

Assume the above reaction starts at equilibrium. Which of the following changes to the system will cause the reaction quotient  to become less than the equilibrium constant ?

Possible Answers:

Addition of  thereby decreasing the concentration of products

Removal of 

Increasing the temperature of the system, thereby providing activation energy

Addition of 

Addition of 

Correct answer:

Addition of 

Explanation:

General formula for the reaction quotient:

Since the reaction starts at equilibrium the initial value of the reaction quotient is equal to the equilibrium constant.

When , the reaction is at equilibrium.

When , the reaction favors the reactant(s).

When , the reaction favors the product(s).

For this problem:

Since the reaction started at equilibrium at this problem, initially . Therefore in order to make the  (and therefore favor the production of products) we must alter the above equation for  to have a smaller value. There are many ways to do this. We can reduce the concentration or either or both of the products, and/or we can increase the concentration of reactant.

Incorrect answers and explanations:

Removal of  decreases the concentration of reactant and would cause 

Addition of  increases the concentration of product and would cause 

Increasing the temperature of the system, thereby providing activation energy is incorrect because this is an exothermic reaction and therefore energy (in this case in the form of heat) is considered a product and would cause . Also it is worth noting that changing the activation energy of a reaction only changes the rate of the reaction, not the direction in which it proceeds.

 

Addition of  thereby decreasing the concentration of products would not change the value of , because adding  will also decrease the concentration or the reactants by the same factor.

Correct answer and explanation:

 Addition of  is the only answer which will alter the value of  to be less than  , because addition of  will increase the concentration of reactants. This increases the value of the denominator in the following equation :

Since dividing by a larger number results in a lower value for , the addition of  results in  (when the reaction starts at equilibrium, if the reaction didn't start at equilibrium increasing the concentration of glucose will still lower the value of , but we would need more information to know if it decreased it enough to be less than .  

Example Question #11 : Le Chatelier's Principle

Consider the following reaction:

Which of the following changes would be expected to drive the reaction to the left?

Possible Answers:

Addition of water to the reaction mixture

A decrease in pressure

An increase in pressure

Reducing the amount of  in the reaction vessel

Correct answer:

An increase in pressure

Explanation:

For this question, we're given a reversible reaction and are asked to identify conditions which would drive the reaction towards the left. In order to answer this, we'll need to understand the fundamentals of Le Chatelier's principle. The basic idea of this principle is that whenever stress is added to a system that is in equilibrium, that system will establish a new equilibrium in order to handle the added stress.

In this question, we can see that both reactant and product are gases. However, they differ in amount. For every one mole of reactant, two moles of product are made. This is an important distinction that will allow us to get our answer. Whenever a system in equilibrium is composed of gases, increased pressure will favor the gas that can exist in a smaller amount. Conversely, decreased pressure will favor the gas that can exist in a greater amount. The relevance that this has to this question is that increased pressure will actually push the reaction to the left, since it is the reactant that can exist in fewer moles as a gas. A decrease in pressure would be expected to have the opposite effect, as it would increase the amount of product and thus would drive the reaction to the right. Reducing the amount of product in the reaction vessel would also be expected to have the opposite effect, as the system would respond by producing more product in order to help offset the loss. And finally, there is no indication of whether the addition of water would have any kind of effect on the reaction equilibrium in this question, thus there is no way to tell.

Example Question #84 : Reactions And Equilibrium

Self-ionization of water is endothermic. What is the value of the sum pH + pOH at ?

Possible Answers:

Greater than 14

Less than 14

Equal to 14

It is impossible to determine without more information

Correct answer:

Less than 14

Explanation:

Recall that ion-product constant of water, , is  at  and .

An endothermic reaction signifies that heat is at the reactant side. By the LeChatelier's principle, increased heat to  shifts the equilibrium to the right side, favoring the increase of  and . This means that  and  both increase, decreasing pH and pOH to less than 7, each. As a result, pH + pOH is less than 14.

Example Question #85 : Reactions And Equilibrium

Which of the following does not affect the equilbrium of a reaction?

Possible Answers:
Adding heat
Increasing the concentration of reactants
Decreasing the volume of the reactants
Adding a catalyst
Removing heat
Correct answer: Adding a catalyst
Explanation:

Le Chatelier's principle states that the concentration of reactants/products, the addition/subtraction of heat, and changing the volume of a reaction would all be factors that affect equilibrium. A catalyst alters the reaction rate without changing equilibrium. 

Example Question #81 : Reactions And Equilibrium

What is occuring when a mixture reaches a dynamic equilibrium state?

Possible Answers:

The forward and reverse reactions are occurring at the same rate

Only the forward reaction is occurring

Neither reaction is occurring; the mixture is completely static

Only the reverse reaction is occurring

Correct answer:

The forward and reverse reactions are occurring at the same rate

Explanation:

Dynamic equilibrium means that the forward and reverse reactions are occurring at the same rate so that there is no net change in the concentrations. 

Example Question #81 : Reactions And Equilibrium

Which of the following accurately describes what occurs in reversible reactions?

Possible Answers:

The reaction can proceed in both the forward and reverse directions, and these reactions always go to completion.

The reaction can proceed in the forward direction to completion.

none of the above

The reaction can proceed in both the forward and reverse directions, and these reactions do not usually go to completion.

Correct answer:

The reaction can proceed in both the forward and reverse directions, and these reactions do not usually go to completion.

Explanation:

The definition of reversible reactions is that they are indeed reversible; in other words, they can proceed in the forward and reverse directions. Since the products can react as well to reform the reactants, these reactions usually do not proceed to completion and instead exist in a dynamic state. 

Example Question #88 : Reactions And Equilibrium

Consider the following reaction:

A+2B\rightarrow2C

The equilibrium constant, K_{eq}, is 0.367.

In a reaction flask, you have a solution containing [A]=0.332\hspace{1 mm}M, [B]=0.0200\hspace{1 mm}M, and [C]=0.332\hspace{1 mm}M. Will the reaction proceed forward (to the right), or backwards (to the left)?

Possible Answers:

None of the available answers

The reaction will proceed both to the right and two the left, but at equal rates

The reaction will not proceed

The reaction will proceed to the left

The reaction will proceed to the right

Correct answer:

The reaction will proceed to the left

Explanation:

For the reaction:

A+2B\rightarrow2C

The expression for the equilibrium constant is:

K_{eq}=\frac{[C]^2}{[A][B]^2}

The reaction quotient is:

Q=\frac{[C]^2}{[A][B]^2}=\frac{[0.332]^2}{[0.332][0.0200]^2}=830\hspace{1 mm}M^{-1}

The reaction quotient is much larger than the equilibrium constant, so the reaction will proceed to the left.

Example Question #272 : Ap Chemistry

Which of the following is not always true for the given arbitrary reaction in equilibrium?

Possible Answers:

Each choice is always true for this equilibrium reaction

The forward and reverse reaction rates are equal

The molar concentrations of reactants and products are equal

Correct answer:

The molar concentrations of reactants and products are equal

Explanation:

The forward and reverse reaction rates are equal for reactions in equilibrium, however, the molar concentration of the reactants and products are usually not equal themselves. One can calculate the equilibrium constant using the equation below.

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