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Chemical Equilibrium

 


             Equilibrium constant expression:.
             In the hypothetical balanced equation, aA + bB cC + dD, coefficients are represented by small letters and chemical symbols are represented by capital letters. .
             The equilibrium constant expression for the equation is: .
             Keq.
             The exponents are the same as the coefficients in the balanced equation. .
             Interpreting Keq .
             If Keq is much greater than 1, the reaction will approach completion. .
             If Keq is much less than 1, equilibrium is established before many products is formed. .
             Each chemical reaction has a unique Keq for every temperature. .
             The Equilibrium Constant.
             In 1864, Peter Waage and Cato Maxmilian Guldberg (both of Norway) published the modern meaning of the equilibrium constant. A reaction they used was the one between acetic acid and ethyl alcohol: .
             CH3COOH + C2H5OH ---> CH3COC2H5 + H2O.
             This reaction, studied in 1862, by others, was carried out many times with different starting concentrations. The reaction was allowed to go to equilibrium and the concentrations of the reactants and products determined. .
             From the published data (as well as their own experiments), they were able to determine a general principle which applies to all chemical equilibria. They called it the "Law of Mass Action" and in modern terms, here it is: .
             When a system is at equilibrium, a constant value is established by the multiplicative product of the concentrations of the reactants (each raised first to the power of its coefficient), then divided by the multiplicative product of the products (each raised first to the power of its coefficient). .
             Now that may be somewhat wordy, so here it is using a generic chemical equation: .
             wA + xB <===> yC + zD.
             Following the word definition above, we have this: .
             A, B, C, and D are the chemical substances. x, y, w and z are the coefficients. .
             Henri LeChatelier's Principle: .
             Once equilibrium is established, no further change is apparent as long as the external conditions remain unchanged.


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