What happens to the equilibrium constant if the reaction is reversed?
Practice Questions
Q1
What happens to the equilibrium constant if the reaction is reversed?
K remains the same
K is doubled
K is inverted
K is halved
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What happens to the equilibrium constant if the reaction is reversed?
Step 1: Understand what an equilibrium constant is. It is a number that tells us the ratio of products to reactants at equilibrium for a chemical reaction.
Step 2: Identify the forward reaction. For example, if we have a reaction A + B ⇌ C + D, the equilibrium constant (K_forward) is calculated as K_forward = [C][D] / [A][B].
Step 3: Now, consider the reverse reaction. The reverse reaction would be C + D ⇌ A + B.
Step 4: Write the equilibrium constant for the reverse reaction. It is K_reverse = [A][B] / [C][D].
Step 5: Notice the relationship between K_forward and K_reverse. K_reverse is the reciprocal of K_forward, which means K_reverse = 1 / K_forward.
Step 6: Conclude that when a reaction is reversed, the equilibrium constant for the reverse reaction is the reciprocal of the equilibrium constant for the forward reaction.
