If the equilibrium constant for a particular chemical reaction is 1 x 10^-3, what does this tell us?
A. At equilibrium, there are more products than reactants.
B. At equilibrium, there are more reactants than products.
C. At equilibrium, there are 1 x 10^-3 moles of product.
D. At the beginning of the reaction, there are more products than reactants.
How would I answer this problem. Please help me.
the answer is B
at equilibrium there are more reactants than products
To answer this problem, you need to understand the concept of equilibrium constant and its relation to the relative amounts of reactants and products. The equilibrium constant (K) is a value that gives us information about the extent of a chemical reaction at equilibrium.
The equilibrium constant is given by the ratio of the concentration of products to the concentration of reactants, with each concentration raised to the power of its stoichiometric coefficient. It can also be expressed in terms of partial pressures for gaseous reactions.
In this case, the equilibrium constant of 1 x 10^-3 tells us that the concentration of products is much lower than the concentration of reactants at equilibrium.
Therefore, the correct answer is B. At equilibrium, there are more reactants than products.
To answer this problem, you need to understand how the equilibrium constant relates to the concentrations of the reactants and products in a chemical reaction. The equilibrium constant, represented as K, is a numerical value that characterizes the position of an equilibrium.
The equilibrium constant expresses the ratio of product concentration to reactant concentration at equilibrium. It is calculated by taking the products of the molar concentrations of the products, each raised to the power of its coefficient in the balanced chemical equation, divided by the products of the molar concentrations of the reactants, each raised to the power of its coefficient.
In this case, the equilibrium constant for the chemical reaction is 1 x 10^-3. This means that at equilibrium, the concentration of the products is 1 x 10^-3 times the concentration of the reactants.
Now, let's analyze the given answer choices:
A. At equilibrium, there are more products than reactants.
This option is not correct because an equilibrium constant less than 1 indicates that the concentration of reactants is greater than the concentration of products.
B. At equilibrium, there are more reactants than products.
This option is correct because an equilibrium constant less than 1 indicates that the concentration of reactants is greater than the concentration of products.
C. At equilibrium, there are 1 x 10^-3 moles of product.
This option is not correct because the equilibrium constant does not directly represent the number of moles of products or reactants at equilibrium. It only gives us information about the concentration ratio between the two.
D. At the beginning of the reaction, there are more products than reactants.
This option cannot be determined solely based on the equilibrium constant value. The equilibrium constant only provides information about the concentrations of reactants and products at equilibrium and does not give any information about the initial conditions of the reaction.
Therefore, the correct answer is B. At equilibrium, there are more reactants than products.
Let's take a simple reaction like
A + B ==> C, then
Keq = (C)/(A)(B)
When K = 1 that tells us that the ratio of numerator to denomnator is the same so we have equal amount of products and reactants.
If K > 1 that tells us that we have more C than A and B so we have more products than reactants.
If K < 1 that tells that we have more A and B (reactants) than C (products)
So with a value of K = 1E-3 what does that tell you?