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14: Fundamental Equilibrium Concepts

  • Page ID
    560898
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    In this chapter, you will learn how to predict the position of the balance and the yield of a product of a reaction under specific conditions, how to change a reaction's conditions to increase or reduce yield, and how to evaluate an equilibrium system's reaction to disturbances.

    • 14.1: Introduction
      Reactions can occur in both directions simultaneously (reactants to products and products to reactants) and eventually reach a state of balance. Reactions can occur in both directions simultaneously (reactants to products and products to reactants) and eventually reach a state of balance.
    • 14.2: Chemical Equilibria
      A reaction is at equilibrium when the amounts of reactants or products no longer change. Chemical equilibrium is a dynamic process, meaning the rate of formation of products by the forward reaction is equal to the rate at which the products re-form reactants by the reverse reaction.
    • 14.3: The Reaction Quotient and Equilibrium Constants
      For any reaction that is at equilibrium, the reaction quotient Q is equal to the equilibrium constant K for the reaction. If a reactant or product is a pure solid, a pure liquid, or the solvent in a dilute solution, the concentration of this component does not appear in the expression for the equilibrium constant. At equilibrium, the values of the concentrations of the reactants and products are constant and the reaction quotient will always equal K.
    • 14.4: Shifting Equilibria - Le Chatelier’s Principle
      Systems at equilibrium can be disturbed by changes to temperature, concentration, and, in some cases, volume and pressure; volume and pressure changes will disturb equilibrium if the number of moles of gas is different on the reactant and product sides of the reaction. The system's response to these disturbances is described by Le Châtelier's principle: The system will respond in a way that counteracts the disturbance. Not all changes to the system result in a disturbance of the equilibrium.
    • 14.5: Equilibrium Calculations and ICE Tables
      The ratios of the rate of change in concentrations of a reaction are equal to the ratios of the coefficients in the balanced chemical equation. The sign of the coefficient of X is positive when the concentration increases and negative when it decreases. We learned to approach three basic types of equilibrium problems. When given the concentrations of the reactants and products at equilibrium, we can solve for the equilibrium constant.  We will introduced the use of an "Initial, Change, Equilibri
    • 14.6: Key Terms
    • 14.7: Key Equations
      These are key equations. You should know how and when to use them. To practice their applications, check out 14.9.
    • 14.8: Summary
      This section provides a brief summary of all the sections covered. It is important to understand that this should not be seen as a summary that will help you understand everything; it will only get you familiar with big concepts.
    • 14.9: Exercises
      These end-of-chapter exercises are for practice to help you both understand concepts from the course and for practice for tests and exams.


    This page titled 14: Fundamental Equilibrium Concepts is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Marco Zimmer-De Iuliis, Anna Galang, and Amir Kanbar.