CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM
Chemical equilibrium- refers to the state of
a system in which the concentration of the
reactant and the concentration of the
products do not change with time, and the
system does not display any further change
in properties.
A graph with the concentration on the y-axis
and time on the x-axis can be plotted. Once
the concentration of both the reactants and
the products stops showing change,
chemical equilibrium is achieved.
Closed System- is isolated system from it’s
surroundings and it is one where no
reactants or products formed can escape
from, or where no reactants or products can
be added.
Open System- constantly interacts with its
surroundings and is one where the
reactants or formed products can escape.
Reversible reaction- A reversible chemical
reaction is one that can go in both
directions; reactants can turn up into
products, and products can turn back into
reactants. This keeps happening until an
equilibrium is reached, where both
processes happen at the same rate and the
amount of reactants and products stays the
same.
Dynamic equilibrium- When the forward
and reverse reaction or processes occur at
the same time, resulting in no observance
change in the system.
Why Is Chemical Equilibrium Called Dynamic
Equilibrium?
The stage at which the rate of the forward
reaction is equal to the rate of the
backward reaction is called an equilibrium
stage. At this point, the number of reactant
molecules converting into products and
product molecules into reactants is the
same. The same equilibrium can be carried
out with the same reactants anywhere with
similar conditions with continuous
interchanging of molecules, and hence
chemical equilibrium is dynamic.
Types of Chemical Equilibrium
There are two types of chemical
equilibrium:
• Homogeneous Equilibrium
• Heterogeneous Equilibrium
Homogenous Chemical Equilibrium
In this type, the reactants and the products
of chemical equilibrium are all in the same
phase. Homogeneous equilibrium can be
further divided into two types:
Reactions in which the number of molecules
of the products is equal to the number of
molecules of the reactants. For example,
• H2 (g) + I2 (g) ⇌ 2HI (g)
• N2 (g) + O2 (g) ⇌ 2NO (g)
Reactions in which the number of molecules
of the products is not equal to the total
number of reactant molecules. For example,
• 2SO2 (g) + O2 (g) ⇌ 2SO3 (g)
• COCl2 (g) ⇌ CO (g) + Cl2 (g)
Heterogeneous Chemical Equilibrium
In this type, the reactants and the products
of chemical equilibrium are present in
different phases. A few examples of
heterogeneous equilibrium are given below:
• CO2 (g) + C (s) ⇌ 2CO (g)
• CaCO3 (s) ⇌ CaO (s) + CO2 (g)
Thus, the different types of chemical
equilibrium are based on the phase of the
reactants and products.
FACTORS AFFECTING CHEMICAL
EQUILIBRIUM
Le Chatelier’s principle- states that a change
in any of the factors that determine
equilibrium conditions of a system will
cause the system to change in such a
manner as to reduce or counteract the
effect of the change.
1. Concentration
Consider the following equilibrium
situation:
A(g) + B(g) → C(g) + D(g)
Let's upset the equilibrium by altering
the concentrations of the substances.
a) What would happen if you changed
the conditions by increasing the
concentration of A?
Solution:
• According to Le Chatelier's principle, the
system will respond to counteract the
effect of the change. As a result, the
system will use up some of the A that
has been added.
• The forward reaction will be favoured as
this is the reaction that would cause the
A to be used up. As a result, the
concentration of A and B will decrease
and the concentration of C and D will
increase. Equilibrium will shift to the
right.
b) What would happen if you changed
the conditions by decreasing the
concentration of B?
Solution:
• According to Le Chatelier's principle, the
system will respond to counteract this
change. As a result, the system will
replace some of the B that has been
removed. The reverse reaction will be
favoured as this reaction will produce
more B. As a result, the concentration of
A and B will increase and the
concentration of C and D will decrease.
Equilibrium will shift to the left.
What would happen if you changed the
conditions by increasing the concentration
of C?
Solution:
According to Le Chatelier's principle, the
system will respond to counteract this
change. As a result, the system will use up
some of the C that has been added. The
reverse reaction will be favoured as this is
the reaction that would cause the C to be
used up. As a result, the concentration of A
and B will increase and the concentration of
C and D will decrease. Equilibrium will shift
to the left.
d)
What would happen if you changed the
conditions by decreasing the concentration
of D?
Solution:
According to Le Chatelier's principle, the
system will respond to counteract this
change. As a result, the system will replace
some of the D that has been removed. The
forward reaction will be favoured as this
reaction will produce more D. As a result,
the concentration of A and B will decrease
and the concentration of C and D will
increase. Equilibrium will shift to the right.
2. Temperature
To understand the effects of temperature
on chemical equilibrium, it is important to
remember the following facts about
exothermic and endothermic chemical
reactions:
o a +AH value means that the forward
reaction is endothermic
o a -AH value means that the forward
reaction is exothermic
Once you have determined whether the
forward reaction is endothermic or
exothermic, you can conclude that the
reverse reaction is the opposite.
The effect of temperature on chemical
equilibrium depends upon the sign of ΔH of
the reaction and follows Le-Chatelier’s
Principle.
• As temperature increases, the
equilibrium constant of an exothermic
reaction decreases.
• In an endothermic reaction, the
equilibrium constant increases with an
increase in temperature.
Along with the equilibrium constant, the
rate of reaction is also affected by the
change in temperature. As per Le Chatelier’s
principle, the equilibrium shifts towards the
reactant side when the temperature
increases in the case of exothermic
reactions; for endothermic reactions, the
equilibrium shifts towards the product side
with an increase in temperature.
3. Effect of a Catalyst
A catalyst does not affect the chemical
equilibrium, it only speeds up a reaction. In
A catalyst does not affect the chemical
equilibrium, it only speeds up a reaction. In
fact, the catalyst equally speeds up the
forward as well as the reverse reaction. This
results in the reaction reaching its
equilibrium faster.
The same amount of reactants and products
will be present at equilibrium in a catalysed
or non-catalysed reaction. The presence of
a catalyst only facilitates the reaction to
proceed through a lower-energy transition
state of reactants to products.
reaching its equilibrium faster.
The same amount of reactants and products
will be present at equilibrium in a catalysed
or non-catalysed reaction. The presence of
a catalyst only facilitates the reaction to
proceed through a lower-energy transition
state of reactants to products.
