What is the effect of temperature on the equilibrium constant K for an exothermic reaction?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the effect of temperature on the equilibrium constant K for an exothermic reaction?
K increases with temperature
K decreases with temperature
K remains constant
K is independent of temperature
For an exothermic reaction, increasing the temperature shifts the equilibrium to the left, thus decreasing the value of K.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: What is the effect of temperature on the equilibrium constant K for an exothermic reaction?
Solution: For an exothermic reaction, increasing the temperature shifts the equilibrium to the left, thus decreasing the value of K.
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand what an exothermic reaction is. It is a reaction that releases heat.
Step 2: Know that the equilibrium constant K is a number that tells us the ratio of products to reactants at equilibrium.
Step 3: Remember that increasing temperature adds heat to the system.
Step 4: For exothermic reactions, adding heat (increasing temperature) shifts the equilibrium to the left, meaning it favors the reactants.
Step 5: When the equilibrium shifts to the left, the concentration of products decreases and the concentration of reactants increases.
Step 6: Since K is based on the concentrations of products and reactants, a decrease in products and an increase in reactants means that K will decrease.
