All High School Chemistry Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #12 : Chemical Equilibrium
If the equilibrium constant lies farther to the right, this indicates that the reaction __________.
does not have a bearing on the reaction
includes a catalyst
is less complete
is more complete
is more complete
The equilibrium constant is given by the concentraton of products over the concentration of reactants. If it lies to the right, it means that it favors the forward reaction, and thus the reaction is "more complete" or closer to completion.
Example Question #11 : Chemical Reactions
Consider the following balanced equation for the solubility of barium hydroxide in an aqueous solution.
What is the equilibrium expression for the balanced reaction?
When writing the equilibrium expression for an insoluble salt, remember that pure solids and liquids are not included in the expression. Also, the coefficients for the compounds in the balanced reaction become the exponents for the compounds in the equilibrium expression.
Given a generalized chemical reaction, we can determine the equilibrium constant expression.
In our reaction, the reactant is a pure solid and is not included in the equilibrium calculation.
Example Question #12 : Equilibrium
Which of the following factors will change the equilibrium constant, Keq?
Introducing additional reactants
Change in solvent volume
Change in temperature
Introducing additional products
Change in temperature
The only factor that changes the equilibrium constant is temperature. Changes in concentration of reactants or products by any means (whether addition, taking away solvent, or adding a chemical that will cause side reactions) will remove the system from equilibrium, but will not change the equilibrium constant.
Example Question #221 : High School Chemistry
Which of the following factors will change the equilibrium constant, Keq?
Introducing additional products
Introducing additional reactants
Change in solvent volume
Change in temperature
Change in temperature
The only factor that changes the equilibrium constant is temperature. Changes in concentration of reactants or products by any means (whether addition, taking away solvent, or adding a chemical that will cause side reactions) will remove the system from equilibrium, but will not change the equilibrium constant.
Example Question #1 : Help With Reaction Quotient
Consider the following balanced reaction:
The solution has the following concentrations:
Based on these concentrations, what will happen to the solution?
The system is at equilibrium
It will shift to the right
More information is needed in order to answer the question
It will shift to the left
It will shift to the left
By placing these initial concentrations in the equilibrium expression, we can compare the reaction quotient, , to the equilibrium constant, .
The reaction quotient for this reaction is:
Note that the reactant is a pure solid, and will not be included in this expression. By setting this equal to the equilibrium constant, we can see whether or is larger in value.
We can predict how a solution will change based on the value of . When is less than , the reaction will shift to the right. If is greater than , the reaction will shift to the left. If is equal to , the solution is at equilibrium.
Since the value for is greater than the equilibrium constant in this instance, the reaction will shift to the left.
Example Question #51 : Reactions And Equilibrium
Consider the following reaction.
What is the reaction quotient if ?
There is not enough information to answer this question
The reaction quotient, or Q, of the above reaction is equal to the products over the reactants. Q is calculated in the same manner as Keq, but does not require that the reaction be at equilibrium.
Example Question #2 : Le Chatelier's Principle
Figure 1: Ammonia gas formation and equilibrium
What would most likely happen if a scientist decreased the volume of the container in which the reaction occurs?
A violent explosion would occur
More N2 would form
More NH3 would form
Less NH3 would form
More H2 would form
More NH3 would form
Le Chatelier's principle states that changes in pressure are attributable to changes in volume. If we increase the volume, the reaction will shift toward the side that has more moles of gas. If we decrease the volume, the reaction will shift toward the side that has less moles of gas. Since the product side has only two moles of gas, compared to the reactant side with four moles, the reaction would shift toward the product side, and more NH3 would form.
Example Question #1 : Identifying Reaction Equilibrium
Which of the answer choices correctly identifies chemical equilibrium?
The concentration of reactants and concentration of products are equal
The forward and reverse reactions are occurring at the same rate
The products have all been used up in further reactions
The reactants have all been converted to products
The products have all been converted to reactants
The forward and reverse reactions are occurring at the same rate
Chemical equilibrium is defined as a state when the rates of the forward and reverse reactions are equal. Different reactions will have different concentrations of products are reactants, and concentration can vary depending on the process. Chemical equilibrium, however, is always the point at which there is no bias towards creating products or reactants.
If the forward reaction rate and reverse reaction rate are equal, then there is no net change in concentration of the reactants or products. This makes them appear to be stable.
Example Question #2 : Identifying Reaction Equilibrium
When a reaction is at equilibrium __________.
the reverse reaction rate is equal to zero
the forward reaction rate is equal to zero
The forward reaction rate is slower than the reverse reaction rate
the forward reaction rate is equal to the reverse reaction rate
the forward reaction rate is equal to the reverse reaction rate
When a reaction is at equilibrium, the concentrations of reactants and products are no longer increasing or decreasing; however, this does not mean that the forward and reverse reactions have stopped taking place. They are simply taking place at the same rate so that the concentrations of products and reactants do not change. Equilibrium is a dynamic process. Reactions are still taking place, but they offset one another in terms of rate. Essentially, every product that is created is immediately converted back to reactant by the reverse process, making the concentration of reactants and products appear constant.
Example Question #3 : Identifying Reaction Equilibrium
Consider the following balanced reaction:
What will increasing the pressure do to the system?
It will shift to the left
It depends on the temperature of the system
Nothing will happen
It will shift to the right
It will shift to the right
Le Chatelier's principle states that a system will shift in a particular direction in order to reduce introduced stress to the system. In other words, if something is added to one side of the equation, the other side will consequently increase in order to restore equilibrium.
When gases are involved in the reaction, pressure increases on the side of the reaction with more moles of gas. Adding an additional amount of pressure will push the reaction toward the side with fewer moles of gas. This helps lower the pressure inside the container.
There are four moles of gas on the reactants side, and two moles on the products side. If pressure is increased, the system will shift to the right in order to adjust to the new pressure.