What would happen to a weak base dissociation equilibrium if more products were added?
It will force the equilibrium to the left meaning that less of the acid will dissociate.
CH3COOH ==> CH3COO^- + H^+
If I add acetate ion (say from sodium acetate) or H^+ (say from HCl), Le Chatelie's Principle takes over and the reaction shifts to the left. That means the acid is less dissociated.
If more products are added to a weak base dissociation equilibrium, it would shift the equilibrium towards the reactants side in order to restore the balance of the reaction. This is known as Le Chatelier's principle, which states that a system at equilibrium will respond to any change by shifting the equilibrium position to counteract the change.
To understand why this shift occurs, let's consider an example of a weak base dissociation reaction:
HA (aq) ⇋ A- (aq) + H+ (aq)
In this reaction, HA represents the weak base (such as ammonia, NH3) that is dissociating into its conjugate base, A-, and a hydrogen ion, H+.
When more products (A- and H+) are added to the reaction mixture, the concentration of these products increases. According to Le Chatelier's principle, the equilibrium will shift to the left (towards reactants) to counteract this increase. As a result, more HA molecules will be formed from A- and H+, reducing the concentration of products.
By shifting the equilibrium to the left, the weak base will dissociate less, resulting in a decrease in the concentration of A- and H+. This shift helps restore the balance in the reaction and minimize the effect of adding more products.
It is important to note that the extent of the shift and the specific changes in concentrations will depend on the concentrations of the reactants and products before the addition of more products.