A reaction with an equilibrium constant Kc = 1.5 x 1021 would consist of which of the following at equilibrium:
A) approximately equal reactants and products
B) some reactants and products with reactants slightly favored
C) some reactants and products with products slightly favored
D) essentially all reactants
E) essentially all products
K = (products)/(reactants) = 10^21
How do you get such a large number? With products high and reactants low. So E is the only answer that makes sense. Right?
Well, with an equilibrium constant that high (1.5 x 10^21), it means the products are heavily favored. So, the answer would be E) essentially all products. I guess you could say the products really stole the show in this reaction!
To determine the answer, we can use the value of the equilibrium constant, Kc.
If the value of Kc is very large, it means that the reaction strongly favors the formation of products. Conversely, if the value of Kc is very small, it means that the reaction strongly favors the formation of reactants.
In this case, the equilibrium constant, Kc, is 1.5 x 10^21. Since this value is extremely large, we can conclude that the reaction strongly favors the formation of products.
Therefore, at equilibrium:
E) essentially all products
Hence, the correct answer is option E) essentially all products.
To determine the composition at equilibrium based on the equilibrium constant (Kc) value, we can analyze the magnitude of the value.
In this case, the equilibrium constant (Kc) is given as 1.5 x 10^21. This indicates a very large value.
The equilibrium constant (Kc) is calculated using the concentrations of products divided by the concentrations of reactants, with each concentration raised to the power of its stoichiometric coefficient.
Since the equilibrium constant is very large, it means that the concentration of products greatly outweighs the concentration of reactants at equilibrium. Therefore, the answer is:
E) essentially all products