NOTES (2022-2023)

Subject: CHEMISTRY

Name of the lesson: EQUILIBRIUM

Grade: XI

Chemical Equilibrium
In a chemical reaction chemical equilibrium is defined as the state at which there is no further
change in concentration of reactants and products. That is the rate of forward reaction is equal to
the rate of backward reaction.

Equilibrium mixture: The mixture of reactants and products in the equilibrium state is called an
equilibrium mixtures.

Based on the extent to which the reactions proceed to reach the state of equilibrium, these may be
classified in three groups:
(i) The reactions which proceed almost to completion and the concentrations of the reactants left
are negligible.
(ii) The reactions in which most of the reactants remains unchanged, i.e. only small amounts of
products are formed.
(iii) The reactions in which the concentrations of both the reactants and products are comparable
when the system is in equilibrium.
Equilibrium in Physical Processes (Refer Textbook)
LAW OF CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM AND EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANT
At a given temperature, the product of concentrations of the reaction products raised to the
respective stoichiometric coefficient in the balanced chemical equation divided by the product of
concentrations of the reactants raised to their individual stoichiometric coefficients has a constant
value. This is known as the Equilibrium Law or Law of Chemical Equilibrium.
Consider a reversible reaction,

The equilibrium constant,

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Relations between Equilibrium Constants for a General Reaction and its Multiples

Practice questions
1. Write the expression for the equilibrium constant, Kc for each of the following
reactions

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 2. The following concentrations were obtained for the formation of NH3 from N2 and
H2 at equilibrium at 500K. [N2 ] = 1.5 × 10–2M. [H2 ] = 3.0 ×10–2 M and [NH3 ] =
1.2 ×10–2M. Calculate equilibrium constant.

3. At equilibrium, the concentrations of N2=3.0 × 10–3M, O2 = 4.2 × 10–3M and

NO= 2.8 × 10–3M in a sealed vessel at 800K. What will be Kc for the reaction

4. For the following equilibrium, Kc = 6.3 × 1014 at 1000 K

Both the forward and reverse reactions in the equilibrium are elementary
bimolecular reactions. What is Kc , for the reverse reaction?

HOMOGENEOUS EQUILIBRIA
In a homogeneous system, all the reactants and products are in the same phase.

Eg:

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HETEROGENEOUS EQUILIBRIA
Equilibrium in a system having more than one phase is called heterogeneous equilibrium.

Eg:

Relation between Kc and Kp (Equilibrium constant in terms of concentration and

equilibrium constant in terms of pressure)
The ideal gas equation is written as

Case 1
Consider the reaction

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Case 2
Consider the reaction

Case 3- General expression

Consider the reaction

Thus,

where ∆n = (number of moles of gaseous products) – (number of moles of gaseous reactants) in

the balanced chemical equation.

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Practice questions
1. For the equilibrium,

the value of the equilibrium constant, Kc is 3.75 × 10–6 at 1069 K. Calculate the
Kp for the reaction at this temperature?

2. Find out the value of Kc for each of the following equilibria from the value of Kp :

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 APPLICATIONS OF EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANT

1. Predicting the Extent of a Reaction

Case 1.
If Kc > 103, products predominate over reactants, i.e., if Kc is very large, the reaction
proceeds nearly to completion
Case 2.
If Kc < 10–3, reactants predominate over products, i.e., if Kc is very small, the reaction
proceeds rarely.
Case 3.
If Kc is in the range of 10 – 3 to 103, appreciable concentrations of both reactants and
products are present.

2. Predicting the Direction of the Reaction

Reaction quotient (Qc) – It is the ratio of the concentration of products to the reactants
which are not at equilibrium.
Case 1.
If Qc > Kc, the reaction will proceed in the direction of reactants (reverse reaction).
Case 2.
If Qc < Kc, the reaction will proceed in the direction of the products (forward reaction).
Case 3.
If Qc = Kc, the reaction mixture is already at equilibrium.

3. Calculating Equilibrium Concentrations

Practice question
1. The value of Kc for the reaction 2A ⇌ B + C is 2 × 10–3. At a given time, the
composition of reaction mixture is [A] = [B] = [C] = 3 × 10–4 M. In which
direction the reaction will proceed?

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 FACTORS AFFECTING EQUILIBRIA
The different factors which affect the equilibrium of a reaction are
1. Concentration
2. Pressure
3. Temperature
4. Catalyst
5. Addition of inert gases
Le Chatelier’s principle.
It states that a change in any of the factors that determine the equilibrium conditions of a
system will cause the system to change in such a manner so as to reduce or to counteract the
effect of the change
1. Effect of Concentration Change

•
As the concentration of the reactants increases, the rate of forward reaction
increases.
• As the concentration of the reactants decreases, the rate of backward reaction
increases.
• As the concentration of the products decreases (removal of the products), the rate of
forward reaction increases.
Eg: Consider the reaction,

2. Effect of pressure

• As we increase the pressure of a system in equilibrium, the reaction will proceed to

the direction where the number of are less.
Eg:

3. Effect of temperature
Endothermic reactions –
▪ The rate of forward reaction increases with increase in the temperature.

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 ▪ The rate of backward reaction increases with decrease in the temperature.
Exothermic reactions –
o The rate of backward reaction increases with increases the temperature.
o The rate of forward reaction increases with decreases the temperature.

Eg:

4. Effect of Inert Gas Addition

• If the volume is kept constant there is no effect on equilibrium after the addition of an
inert gas.
Reason: This is because the addition of an inert gas at constant volume does not
change the partial pressure or the molar concentration.

5. Effect of catalyst
• Catalyst has no effect on the equilibrium composition of a reaction mixture.
Reason: Since catalyst increases the speed of both the forward and backward
reactions to the same extent in a reversible reaction.

Effect on Equilibrium constant

• Concentration – No change in Kp or Kc
• Pressure - No change in Kp or Kc
• Temperature –
• (i) Endothermic reaction – Kp or Kc increases
• (ii) Exothermic reaction – Kp or Kc decreases
• Addition of Catalyst - No change in Kp or Kc
Addition of inert gas - No change in Kp or Kc
Practice questions
1. Which of the following reactions will get affected by increasing the pressure?
Also, mention whether change will cause the reaction to go into forward or
backward direction

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 2. Dihydrogen gas is obtained from natural gas by partial oxidation with steam as
per following endothermic reaction:
CH4 (g) + H2O (g) ⇌ CO (g) + 3H2 (g)
(a) Write as expression for Kp for the above reaction.
(b) How will the values of Kp and composition of equilibrium mixture be affected
by
(i) increasing the pressure
(ii) increasing the temperature
(iii) using a catalyst?

3. Describe the effect of:

a) addition of H2
b) addition of CH3OH
c) removal of CO
d) removal of CH3OH on the equilibrium of the reaction:
2H2 (g) + CO (g) ⇌CH3OH (g)

4. At 473 K, equilibrium constant Kc for decomposition of phosphorus pentachloride,

PCl 5 is 8.3 ×10-3. If decomposition is depicted as,

a) write an expression for Kc for the reaction.

b) what is the value of Kc for the reverse reaction at the same temperature?
c) what would be the effect on Kc if
(i) more PCl5 is added
(ii) pressure is increased
(iii) the temperature is increased ?

IONIC EQUILIBRIUM IN SOLUTION

It is the equilibria involving ions.

ACIDS, BASES AND SALTS

1. Arrhenius Concept of Acids and Bases
Acids are substances that dissociates in water to give hydrogen ions H+(aq) and bases are
substances that produce hydroxyl ions OH–(aq).

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 2. The Brönsted-Lowry Acids and Bases
Acid is a substance that is capable of donating a hydrogen ion H+ and bases are substances
capable of accepting a hydrogen ion, H+.

Practice questions
1. What will be the conjugate bases for the following Brönsted acids: HF, H2 SO4
and HCO3-?
2. Write the conjugate acids for the following Brönsted bases: NH2– , NH3 and
HCOO– .
3. The species: H2O, HCO3– , HSO4– and NH3 can act both as Bronsted acids and
bases. For each case give the corresponding conjugate acid and conjugate base.
Lewis Acids and Bases
• Acid as a species which accepts electron pair and base which donates an electron
pair.
• Electron deficient species like AlCl3 , Co3+ , Mg2+ , etc. can act as Lewis acids while
species like H2O, NH3 , OH– etc. which can donate a pair of electrons, can act as Lewis
bases.
Practice questions
1. Classify the following species into Lewis acids and Lewis bases and show how
these act as such:

2. Which of the followings are Lewis acids?

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 3. What will be the conjugate bases for the Brönsted acids:

4. Write the conjugate acids for the following Brönsted bases:

The Ionization Constant of Water and its Ionic Product

• In pure water, one H2O molecule donates proton and acts as an acid and another water
molecules accepts a proton and acts as a base at the same time.

The concentration of water is omitted from the denominator as water is a pure liquid and its
concentration remains constant. [H2O] is incorporated within the equilibrium constant to give a new
constant, Kw , which is called the ionic product of water.

The concentration of H+ has been found out experimentally as 1.0 × 10–7 M at 298 K. And, as
dissociation of water produces equal number of H+ and OH – ions, the concentration of hydroxyl
ions, [OH-] = [H+ ] = 1.0 × 10–7 M. Thus, the value of Kw at 298K.

The pH Scale

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Ionization Constants of Weak Acids and bases

Where, Ka = Ionization constant of weak acid

Kb = Ionization constant of weak base
C = Initial concentration
α = Degree of dissociation
Di- and Polybasic Acids and Di- and Polyacidic Bases
• Acids which release two or more H+ ions are called di and polybasic acids.
Eg: H2SO4, H3PO4
• Bases which release two or more OH- ions are called di or polyacidic bases.
Eg: Ca(OH)2, Al(OH)3
Factors Affecting Acid Strength
The factors affecting the strength of acids are
1. Strength of H-A bond – As the strength of H-A bond increases, acidic strength decreases.
2. Polarity of H-A bond – As the polarity of H-A bond increases, acidic strength increases.
Variation of acidic strength in the periodic table
In a group
• H-A bond strength is a more important factor in determining acidity of acids in a group.
• As we move down the group, strength of H-A bond decreases, thus acidity increases.

In a period
• Polarity of H-A bond is an important factor in determining the acidic strength in a period.
• As we move from left to right in a group, polarity of H-A bond increases and acidity
increases.

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 Common Ion Effect in the Ionization of Acids and Bases
It can be defined as a shift in equilibrium on adding a substance that provides more of an ionic
species already present in the dissociation equilibrium.
Eg: (i) Passing HCl gas to the brine solution to prepare pure NaCl
(ii) Addition of NaCl in the preparation of Soap.
BUFFER SOLUTIONS
The solutions which resist change in pH on dilution or with the addition of small amounts of acid
or alkali are called Buffer Solutions.
Applications of Buffer solutions

Types of buffer solutions

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