In a reaction at equilibrium, what happens if the concentration of reactants is increased?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
In a reaction at equilibrium, what happens if the concentration of reactants is increased?
The equilibrium shifts to the right
The equilibrium shifts to the left
The equilibrium remains unchanged
The reaction stops
According to Le Chatelier's principle, increasing the concentration of reactants will shift the equilibrium position to the right, favoring product formation.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: In a reaction at equilibrium, what happens if the concentration of reactants is increased?
Solution: According to Le Chatelier's principle, increasing the concentration of reactants will shift the equilibrium position to the right, favoring product formation.
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand that a chemical reaction can reach a state called equilibrium, where the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction.
Step 2: Recognize that in this state, both reactants and products are present in certain concentrations.
Step 3: Learn about Le Chatelier's principle, which states that if a change is made to a system at equilibrium, the system will adjust to counteract that change.
Step 4: If the concentration of reactants is increased, the system will respond by trying to reduce that concentration.
Step 5: To reduce the concentration of reactants, the equilibrium will shift to the right, meaning more products will be formed.
Step 6: As a result, the amount of products in the reaction will increase until a new equilibrium is established.
