If the temperature of an exothermic reaction at equilibrium is increased, what will happen to the equilibrium position?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
If the temperature of an exothermic reaction at equilibrium is increased, what will happen to the equilibrium position?
Shift to the right
Shift to the left
No change
Reaction rate increases
For an exothermic reaction, increasing the temperature shifts the equilibrium to the left, favoring the reactants, as the system tries to absorb the added heat.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: If the temperature of an exothermic reaction at equilibrium is increased, what will happen to the equilibrium position?
Solution: For an exothermic reaction, increasing the temperature shifts the equilibrium to the left, favoring the reactants, as the system tries to absorb the added heat.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand that an exothermic reaction releases heat.
Step 2: Recognize that at equilibrium, the reaction can go in both directions: forward (producing products) and backward (producing reactants).
Step 3: Know that increasing the temperature adds heat to the system.
Step 4: Realize that the system will try to counteract this added heat by shifting the equilibrium position.
Step 5: For an exothermic reaction, the system will shift to the left (toward the reactants) to absorb the extra heat.
