Chemical

Equilibrium
QUESTION 6- P2
20 MARKS
 Terminology
Open system: is a state of a system, in which a system continuously interacts with its
environment.

Closed system: is a system in the state of being isolated from its surrounding environment.

Reversible reaction (⇌ ): A reaction is reversible when products can be converted back to

reactants and vice versa.

Chemical equilibrium: It is a dynamic equilibrium when the rate of the forward reaction equals
the rate of the reverse reaction.

Le Chatelier's principle: When the equilibrium in a closed system is disturbed, the system will
re-instate a new equilibrium by favouring the reaction that will oppose the disturbance.
 Factors that influence the position of the
equilibrium:
1.Concentration

2.Temperature

3.Pressure (gases only)

Reaction

Irreversible Reversible

The products can

Take place in only
change back into
one direction
reactants
1- The Effect of Concentration
I. Increasing the concentration of the reactants:
I. Favours the reaction that minimises the concentration.
II. Therefore the forward reaction will be favoured.
III. Thus product yield increases.

II. Decreasing the concentration of the reactants:

I. Favours the reaction that increases the concentration.
II. Therefore the reverse reaction will be favoured.
III. Thus product yield decreases.

III. Increasing the concentration of the products:

I. Favours the reaction that minimises the concentration.
II. Therefore the reverse reaction will be favoured.
III. Thus product yield decreases.

IV. Decreasing the concentration of the products:

I. Favours the reaction that increases the concentration.
II. Therefore the forward reaction will be favoured.
III. Thus product yield increases.
 2- The Effect of Temperature
Increasing temperature always favours the endothermic reaction.
Decreasing the temperature always favours the exothermic reaction.

I. Endothermic Reactions: ΔH >0

I. Increasing the temperature of the forward endothermic reaction favours the
forward endothermic reaction. Thus product yield increases.
II. Decreasing the temperature of the forward endothermic reaction favours the
reverse exothermic reaction. Thus product yield decreases.

II. Exothermic Reactions: ΔH <0

I. Increasing the temperature of the forward exothermic reaction favours the
reverse endothermic reaction. Thus product yield decreases.
II. Decreasing the temperature of the forward exothermic reaction favours the
forward exothermic reaction. Thus product yield increases.
 𝟏
3- The effect of Pressure(only gases) 𝒑 ∝
𝑽
Increasing the pressure favours the reaction with fewer molecules.
Decreasing pressure favours the reaction with more molecules.

• In this case both sides have the same number of molecules therefore increasing pressure will have no effect
on equilibrium.

2H2 (g) + O2(g) ⇌ 2H2O (g)

I. Increasing the pressure favours the reaction with fewer molecules.
I. In this case, the product side has fewer molecules (2).
II. Therefore the forward reaction will be favoured.
III. Thus product yield increases.
II. Decreasing the pressure favours the reaction with more molecules.
I. In this case, the reactant side has more molecules (3).
II. Therefore the reverse reaction is favoured.
III. Thus product yield will decrease.
FACTOR DISTURBANCE/CHANGE INFLUENCE ON EQUILIBRIUM

Concentration
Summary
Increase concentration or reactants Forward reaction is favoured

Increase concentration or reactants Reverse reaction is favoured

Decrease concentration of reactants Reverse reaction is favoured

Decrease concentration of products Forward reaction is favoured

Temperature Temperature increased Endothermic reaction is favoured

Temperature decreased Exothermic reaction is favoured

Pressure Pressure increased Reaction which produces lowest/least

number of molecules is favoured

Pressure decreased Reaction which produces highest

/more number of molecules is
favoured
Catalyst Addition of catalyst No effect on Equilibrium
 Types of Reactions

System

Homogeneous Heterogeneous

Substances all have the same phase Substances occupy different phases
Consider the reaction of H2(g) + I2(g) ⇌ 2HI(g)

 H2 gas and I2 vapour are mixed in a closed container.

 As the reaction proceeds the concentrations of the H2 and I2 decrease and the rate of forward
reaction decreases.
 The concentration of HI increases and the rate of the reverse reaction increases.
 After a certain time the rate of forward reaction is the same as the rate of reverse reaction
and a chemical equilibrium exists.
 Conditions for Equilibrium
I. The chemical reaction must be closed

II. When a chemical equilibrium is reached in a closed system, the rates of forward and reverse reaction are
the same.

III. The concentration of reactants and products remains constant.

IV. If reaction reaches equilibrium , you can combine these concentrations into an expression known as
equilibrium constant.
[𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑠]
𝐾𝑐 =
[𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠]

V. The equilibrium constant always has the same value (at constant temperature).
 The Equilibrium Constant
nA + mB ⇌ xC + yD

Kc =
C  D 
x y

A B 
n m

 Kc= equilibrium constant (no unit).

 We exclude substances in the solid and liquid phases in Kc expressions.
 The square brackets represents the concentrations at equilibrium in mol.dm-3
 The exponents are the coefficients of each substance in the balanced chemical equation.
 Kc > 1 indicates that the forward reaction is favoured (high product yield).
 Kc < 1 or lower Kc indicate that the reverse reaction is favoured (low product yield).
 Examples:
I. Ca CO3 (s) ⇌ CaO(s) + CO2 (g)

II. HCl(g) + H2O(l) ⇌ H3O+ (aq) + Cl-(aq)

III. An equilibrium mixture consists of CO2(g), H2(g), CO(g) and H2O(g). At 100o C is analysed
and it is found that: [CO]=3mol.dm-3, [H2O]=7,2 mol.dm-3, [CO2]=2,4 mol.dm-3 and
[H2]=4,5 mol.dm-3. Calculate Kc at 100oC for the reaction:CO2(g) + H2(g) ⇌ CO(g) +
H2O(g

Exclude substances in the liquid and solid phases in the Kc expression.

 The Kc table explained
Balanced Chemical Reaction
Reactant 1 Reactant 2 Product 1 Product 2
R (Mol Ratio) the co-efficient of each molecule
I (Initial mol) The number of mol before the reaction takes place
C (Δ mol) Change in mol depends on R(mol ratio).
For reactants – and for products +.
E (Equilibrium Reactants: I-C=E Products: I+C=E
mol)
𝒏𝑬
CE= These concentrations are substituted into the Kc expression.
𝑽
 Worked Example 1
A mixture of 0,3 mol H2 and 0,2 mol O2 is placed in a closed container with a volume of 200
cm3. This reaction reaches equilibrium at 50 0C and there is 0,1mol H2 left in the container.
Determine the equilibrium constant of the reaction. 2H2 (g) + O2 (g) → 2H2O(g)

2H2 O2 2H2O
R (Mol Ratio)
I (Initial mol)
C (Δ mol)
E (Equilibrium
mol)
𝒏𝑬
C=
𝑽
 Worked Example 1
2H2 O2 2H2O 2H2 O2 2H2O
R (Mol Ratio) R (Mol Ratio) 2 1 2
I (Initial mol) 0,3 0,2 I (Initial mol) 0,3 0,2 0
C (Δ mol) C (Δ mol) -x - +
E (Equilibrium 0,1 E (Equilibrium =0,1
mol) mol)
𝐧𝐄 𝐧𝐄
C= C=
𝐕 𝐕
𝟎, 𝟐 𝟎, 𝟐 𝟎, 𝟐 𝟎, 𝟐 𝟎, 𝟐 𝟎, 𝟐

2H2 O2 2H2O
R (Mol Ratio) 2 1 2
[𝐻2 𝑂]2
𝐾𝑐 =
I (Initial mol) 0,3 0,2 0 [𝐻2 ]2 [𝑂2 ]
C (Δ mol) -0,2 -0,1 +0,2
1 2
E (Equilibrium mol) =0,1 =0,1 =0,2 =
C=
𝐧𝐄 𝟎,𝟏
=0,5 M
𝟎,𝟏
==0,5 M
𝟎,𝟐
=1M
0,5 2 (0,5)
𝐕 𝟎,𝟐 𝟎,𝟐 𝟎,𝟐
=8
 Worked Example 2
During a research experiment carried out by initially adding 1 mol of O2 (g) and 1 mol of N2 (g)
in a 2dm3 closed container at 300K, it was found that the concentration of the NO(g) present
in the container at equilibrium was 0, 1mol.dm-3 Calculate the equilibrium constant (Kc) for the
reaction at this temperature. N2 (g) + O2 (g) ⇄ 2NO (g) ∆H = + 90,4kJ

N2 O2 2NO
R (Mol Ratio)
I (Initial mol)
C (Δ mol)
E (Equilibrium
mol)
𝐧𝐄
C=
𝐕
 Worked Example 2
N2 O2 2NO
R (Mol Ratio)
I (Initial mol) 1 1
C (Δ mol)
E (Equilibrium mol)
𝒏𝑬
C=
𝑽 = 𝟎, 𝟏
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐

N2 O2 2NO
[𝑁𝑂]2
R (Mol Ratio) 1 1 2 𝐾𝑐 =
I (Initial mol) 1 1 0 [𝑁2 ][𝑂2 ]
C (Δ mol) -0,1 -0,1 +0,2 0,1 2
E (Equilibrium mol) =0,9 =0,9 =0,2 =
𝐧𝐄
(0,45) (0,45)
C= 𝟎,𝟗
=0,45
𝟎,𝟗
= 0,45 𝟎, 𝟐
𝐕 𝟐 𝟐
𝟐
= 𝟎, 𝟏 = 0,049
 Worked Example 3
The thermal decomposition of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is an example of a
heterogeneous equilibrium. The decomposition that takes place in a closed container can
be represented by the following equation:
CaCO3(s) ⇌ CaO(s) + CO2(g)
Initially 5 g of CaCO3(s) is placed in a closed 500 cm3 container and then heated.
Equilibrium is reached at 900 °C.
Calculate the mass of unreacted CaCO3(s) that remains in the container at equilibrium if
Kc for the reaction is 0,0108 at 900 °C
minitial(CaCO3)= 5g CaCO3: CO2
1 : 1
m(CaCO3)excess=? nreacted(CaCO3)=0,054mol
𝑚
𝐾𝑐 = [𝐶𝑂2 ] 0,0054 =
100
0,0108= [𝐶𝑂2 ] m(CaCO3)reacted= 0,54𝑔
𝑛 m(CaCO3)excess= minitial- mreacted
c= = 5-0,54
𝑉
𝑛 =4,46g
0,0108 =
0,5
𝑛 𝐶𝑂2 = 0,0054𝑚𝑜𝑙
 Equilibrium graphs
4. Catalyst

Vertical step (up/ down) at All substances have vertical steps No vertical step (up/down)
disturbance. (all up/ all down) at disturbance. at disturbance.