Equilibrium
Equilibrium
Equilibrium
Equilibrium Expression
For the following reaction at a specified temperature:
aA + bB cC + dD
[C ] [ D ] K a b [ A] [ B ]
Where K is the equilibrium constant and is unitless. Look familiar? K is Q (the reaction quotient) when a reaction is at equilibrium. When concentrations are used, sometimes its referred to as Kc.
K = ???
[ NH 4 ][OH ] K [ NH 3 ]
So far
Weve used aqueous systems to write equilibrium expressions. Would it look strange to write the concentration of a gas in terms of molarity? It would, but we can. Weird, I know. We can also write the equilibrium expression for a gaseous system in terms of partial pressures. Makes a little more sense to me Heres a little background for Marcus and Ian. The rest of us can take a little nap.
If you recall the ideal gas law is PV=nRT and rearrange it so that the gas concentration is represented by n/V, then you might see that it is equivalent to P/RT. Therefore, P = (n/V)RT. In other words, the partial pressure of a gas is proportional to its concentration.
Example Problem
PHI Kp PH 2 PI 2
Kc = ???
Kp
K = ???
Kp
K = ???
[ SO2 ] K [O2 ]
Kp
PSO2 PO2
Relating Kp to Kc
In many instances, the values of Kp and Kc are different. We can use the politically correct equation to convert between the two. Where Kp is the equilibrium expression in units of pressure Kc is the equilibrium expression in units of concentration R is the universal gas constant = 0.0821 L atm/mol K T is temperature in Kelvin ng is the change in number of moles of gas in going from the reactants to the products = (moles of gaseous products) (moles of gaseous reactants); it can be a negative value if you have more moles of reactants than products
Kp = Kc(RT)ng
Homework
Page 789 #1-2 For each problem, write the pressure AND concentration expressions for gases.
K can be used to calculated unknown concentrations of reactants or products at equilibrium (assuming some are already known).
Product-Favored Equilibrium
Large values for K signify the reaction is product-favored
Reactant-Favored Equilibrium
Small values for K signify the reaction is reactant-favored
When equilibrium is achieved, very little reactant has been converted to product
Example Problem
In an experiment done at 852 K, the equilibrium concentrations are found to be 3.61 x 10-3 M for sulfur dioxide, 6.11 x 10-4 M for oxygen, and 1.01 x 10-2 M for sulfur trioxide. Calculate the equilibrium constant for this reaction.
Manipulations of K
N2(g) + 3H2(g) 2NH3(g) Kc = [NH3]2 [N2][H2]3 When the stoichiometric coefficients of a balanced equation are multiplied by some factor, K is raised to the power of the multiplication factor. 2N2(g) + 6H2(g) 4NH3(g) Kc = [NH3]4 = Kc2 [N2]2[H2]6 If the reaction is reversed, we take the reciprocal of K. 2NH3(g) N2(g) + 3H2(g) Kc = [N2][H2]3 [NH3]2 If we add equations together, we multiply respective Ks.
Homework
Pages 789-791 #5, 7, 19, 23
Easy Enough?
If you can hang with this, youre in good shape. However, we know that the AP folks are not always so kind as to give us the equilibrium concentrations when they ask us to solve for K. What are we to do? Cry? Thats ugly. Scream? Thats loud. Punch? Thats mean. We can use a RICE table! This is what weve been training for using the McCormick table from the Stoichiometry unit.
RICE Table
RICE stands for
Reaction Initial Concentration (if youre talking molarity, make sure youre working with MOLES PER LITER!) Change in Concentration Equilibrium Concentration
Assuming you start with 8 molecules of H2O and 6 molecules of CO, how many molecules of H2O, CO, H2, and CO2 are present at equilibrium?
K = 2.0
Step #1: Write the equilibrium expression for the reaction. Here, we already know K, so plug it in:
[ H 2 ][ CO2 ] 2. 0 [ H 2O ][ CO ]
Step #2: We RICE the problem, beginning with the Initial concentrations Reaction:
Initial: H2O(g) + CO(g) H2(g) + CO2(g)
8
-1x 8-x
6
-1x 6-x
0
+1x x
0
+1x x
Change:
Equilibrium:
Step #3: We plug equilibrium concentrations into our equilibrium expression, and solve for x using the quadratic equation. H2O(g) + CO(g) H2(g) + CO2(g) Equilibrium: 8-x 6-x x x
x=4
Step #4: Substitute x into our equilibrium concentrations to find the actual concentrations
H2O(g) + CO(g) H2(g) + CO2(g) Equilibrium: 8-x 6-x x x
x=4
Equilibrium: 8-4=4 6-4=2 4 4
Homework
Page 790 #13, 15