In a reaction at equilibrium, what happens to the rate of the forward and reverse reactions?

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Q: In a reaction at equilibrium, what happens to the rate of the forward and reverse reactions?

Solution: At equilibrium, the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction.

Steps: 7

Step 1: Understand that a chemical reaction can go in two directions: forward (reactants to products) and reverse (products to reactants).
Step 2: When a reaction starts, the forward reaction happens quickly because there are many reactants available.
Step 3: As the reaction continues, the amount of reactants decreases and the amount of products increases.
Step 4: Eventually, the rate of the forward reaction slows down because there are fewer reactants.
Step 5: At the same time, the reverse reaction starts to speed up because there are more products available to convert back into reactants.
Step 6: Equilibrium is reached when the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction.
Step 7: At this point, the concentrations of reactants and products remain constant, but both reactions continue to occur at the same rate.