Consider the following equation in chemical equilibrium

C2H4(g) <--> C2H6(g) + 137 kJ

What happens to the ethane (C2H6) when the temperature of the system is increased

increasing the temperature (adding energy), will drive the reaction to the left

When the temperature of the system is increased, it will disturb the equilibrium of the chemical reaction described by the equation.

To understand what happens to the ethane (C2H6) when the temperature increases, we need to consider Le Chatelier's principle. According to this principle, when a stress is applied to a system in equilibrium, the system will respond by shifting in a way that minimizes the effect of the stress.

In this case, increasing the temperature is considered a stress on the system. The reaction is exothermic, which means it releases heat (137 kJ) when it proceeds in the forward direction (from left to right). By increasing the temperature, we are adding more heat to the system.

According to Le Chatelier's principle, the system will shift in a way that reduces the effect of the increased temperature. This means the reaction will proceed in the direction that absorbs heat, which is the reverse direction (from right to left). In other words, more ethane (C2H6) will be converted into ethene (C2H4) to absorb the additional heat.

So, when the temperature of the system is increased, the concentration of ethane (C2H6) will decrease, and the concentration of ethene (C2H4) will increase as the system shifts towards the left to counteract the increase in temperature.

It's important to note that this explanation is based on the assumption that the reaction can be considered as an idealized, simplified representation of a chemical equilibrium. In practice, the behavior of reactions and equilibrium systems may be more complex due to various factors such as pressure, concentration, and catalysts.