What will happen to the following equilibrium if an inert gas is added while the volume remains constant?
2IBr(g) ⇔ I2(g) + Br2(g)
a) The concentration of IBr will increase.
b) The concentration of I2 will increase.
c) The concentration of Br2 will decrease.
d) There will be no change to the equilibrium system.
e) The concentration of I2 will decrease.
d) There will be no change to the equilibrium system.
are you sure?
I apologize for the previous incorrect response.
If an inert gas is added while the volume remains constant, there will be no effect on the equilibrium system. Inert gases do not participate in the equilibrium reaction and their addition does not impact the concentrations of the reactants or products. Therefore, the correct answer is:
d) There will be no change to the equilibrium system.
To determine what will happen to the given equilibrium when an inert gas is added while the volume remains constant, we need to consider Le Chatelier's principle. According to this principle, if a system at equilibrium is subjected to a change, it will respond in a way that tends to minimize the effect of that change.
In this case, an inert gas is added, which does not participate in the reaction and therefore does not affect the concentrations of the species involved. Because the volume remains constant, the increase in the number of gas molecules due to the addition of the inert gas will cause an increase in the total pressure.
To minimize this increase in pressure, the equilibrium will shift in the direction that reduces the total number of moles of gas. We can see that on the left side of the equation, there are two moles of gas (2IBr), while on the right side, there are two moles of gas as well (I2 + Br2). So, there is no change in the total number of moles of gas.
Therefore, according to Le Chatelier's principle, there will be no change in the equilibrium system. As a result, the correct answer is (d) There will be no change to the equilibrium system.