In a reaction at equilibrium, what happens if the volume is increased?
Practice Questions
Q1
In a reaction at equilibrium, what happens if the volume is increased?
Shifts to the side with more moles of gas
Shifts to the side with fewer moles of gas
No effect
Reaction stops
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
In a reaction at equilibrium, what happens if the volume is increased?
Step 1: Understand that a reaction at equilibrium means the forward and reverse reactions are happening at the same rate.
Step 2: Know that gases occupy space and their pressure is related to the volume they are in.
Step 3: When the volume of the container is increased, the space for the gas molecules becomes larger.
Step 4: Increasing the volume causes the pressure of the gas to decrease because the same number of gas molecules is now spread out over a larger space.
Step 5: According to Le Chatelier's principle, if the pressure decreases, the equilibrium will shift to counteract this change.
Step 6: The equilibrium will shift towards the side of the reaction that has more moles of gas, as this will increase the pressure back up.
