In the reaction 2SO2(g) + O2(g) ⇌ 2SO3(g), what happens if SO2 is removed from the system?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
In the reaction 2SO2(g) + O2(g) ⇌ 2SO3(g), what happens if SO2 is removed from the system?
Shift to the right
Shift to the left
No change
Increase in temperature
Removing SO2 will shift the equilibrium to the left to produce more SO2, according to Le Chatelier's principle.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: In the reaction 2SO2(g) + O2(g) ⇌ 2SO3(g), what happens if SO2 is removed from the system?
Solution: Removing SO2 will shift the equilibrium to the left to produce more SO2, according to Le Chatelier's principle.
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand that the reaction involves sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxygen (O2), and sulfur trioxide (SO3).
Step 2: Recognize that the reaction can reach a state of balance called equilibrium, where the amounts of reactants and products remain constant.
Step 3: Know that Le Chatelier's principle states that if a change is made to a system at equilibrium, the system will adjust to counteract that change.
Step 4: When SO2 is removed from the system, there is less SO2 available for the reaction.
Step 5: To counteract the removal of SO2, the equilibrium will shift to the left, meaning the reaction will produce more SO2 from SO3.
Step 6: As a result, the amounts of SO2 will increase until a new equilibrium is reached.