A2 Chemistry Unit 4 Dynamic Equilibria Tutorial 1

Kajana Sivarasa 1


Dynamic Equilibria

Most reactions are reversible They can go both ways.
A + B C + D
When the reactants are mixed ,they eventually reach a position of dynamic
equilibrium.
When the system is in dynamic equilibrium both forward reaction and
reverse reaction are happening but at the same rate.
At dynamic equilibrium, the concentrations of the reactants and products do
not alter.
A dynamic equilibrium can only happen in a closed system at a constant
temperature.
When the dynamic equilibrium has been reached, the reaction has not
stopped; it is simply moving in both directions at the same rate.


Important reversible industrial reactions,
o The Contact Process to manufacture sulphuric acid for use in
fertilisers,dyes,medicines and batteries.
2SO
2(g)
+ O
2(g)
2SO
3(g)

o The Haber process to manufacture ammonia for making fertilizers
and other nitrogen containing compounds.
N
2(g)
+ 3H
2(g)
2NH
3(g)



A2 Chemistry Unit 4 Dynamic Equilibria Tutorial 1
Kajana Sivarasa 2


Equilibrium Constants

1. Expressions for equilibrium constant (K
c
)

Consider the reversible reaction aA + bB cC + dD
The ratio of product concentrations to reactant concentrations is known as the
Equilibrium Constant of the reaction.

K
c
= [C]
c
[D]
d

[A]
a
[B]
b


Where a,b,c,d are the number of moles of each substance.

Example :

Consider the reaction

2SO
2(g)
+ O
2(g)
2SO
3 (g)

If the equilibrium concentrations are SO
2
: 0.016mol/dm3
O
2
: 0.0083mol/dm3
SO
3
: 0.15mol/dm3


Calculate the value of the equilibrium constant K
c
, stating
its units


K
c
=
!!"
!
!
!
!!"
!
!
!
!!
!
!
=
!!!!"!
!
!!!!"#!
!
! !!!!"#
= 1.1 x 10
4
mol
-1
dm
3


Even when the starting concentrations of the reactants and products are
different for different experiments, when equilibrium concentrations are
used to calculate the equilibrium constant, the K
c
will be constant for all
experiments at the same temperature.








Calculating the Units :

!"#$
!
!"#$
!
! !"#$
=
!
!"#$


which is


!
!"# !"
!!
= mol
-1
dm
3


A2 Chemistry Unit 4 Dynamic Equilibria Tutorial 1
Kajana Sivarasa 3


! Homogeneous and Heterogeneous equilibrium

The definition of K
c
only applies to homogeneous equilibria.i.e once where
all the reactants and products are in the same phase.
If youve got more than one phase heterogeneous equilibrium.
If the mixture involves
o Solids and liquids Use K
c
and leave out the concentration of
the solids.
o Solids and gases Use K
p
and leave out the concentration of
solids.
o Gases and liquids Use K
p
and leave out the concentration of
the liquids.





























A2 Chemistry Unit 4 Dynamic Equilibria Tutorial 1
Kajana Sivarasa 4


Practice Questions


1.What is meant by dynamic equilibrium?



.


2.At 473K,the equilibrium constant, K
c,
for the reaction below has a numerical
value of 125.
PCl
3(g)
+ Cl
2(g)
PCl
5(g)


a) At 473K, a quantity of Cl
2(g)
was added to the mixture and equilibrium was
re-established. What effect would this have on the value of the equilibrium
constant? Explain your answer. [2 marks ]






b) The temperature of the equilibrium mixture was allowed to drop to 423K.
What effect would this have on the value of the equilibrium constant?
Explain your answer. [2 marks]






c) At 473K,what would be the numerical value of K
c
for the reaction below?

PCl
5(g)
PCl
3(g)
+ Cl
2(g)
[2 marks]

..




A2 Chemistry Unit 4 Dynamic Equilibria Tutorial 1
Kajana Sivarasa 5


3. What are the units of the equilibrium constant K
c
for the following reactions?

(a) N
2(g)
+ 3H
2(g)
2NH
3(g)







(b) H
2(g)
+ I
2(g)
2HI
(g)








4. The equilibrium constant K
c
for the reaction 2SO
2(g)
+ O
2(g)
2SO
3 (g)
is 10 dm
3

mol
-1
at a certain temperature. The concentrations in the mixture were
found to be [SO
3
] = 5 mol dm
-3
, [SO
2
] = 4 mol dm
-3
, [O
2
] = 3 mol dm
-3
.
Was the reaction at equilibrium?




















A2 Chemistry Unit 4 Dynamic Equilibria Tutorial 1
Kajana Sivarasa 6

2. Working out the equilibrium concentrations to calculate K
c


Example Q :
0.20 moles of phosphorus(V) chloride decomposes at 600K in a vessel of
5.00dm
3
.The equilibrium mixture is found to contain 0.08 moles of chloride. Write
the expression for K
c
and calculate its value, including units.

PCl
5(g)
PCl
3(g)
+ Cl
2(g)


a. Find out how many moles of PCl
5
and PCl
3
at equilibrium
b. Calculate the molar concentrations
c. Substitute in the expression for K
c

d. Work out the units.


A2 Chemistry Unit 4 Dynamic Equilibria Tutorial 1
Kajana Sivarasa 7


3. K
c
can be used to find Concentrations in an Equilibrium mixture

Example Q:
When ethanoic acid was allowed to reach equilibrium with ethanol at 25
o
C, it was
found that the equilibrium mixture contained 2.0 mol dm
-3
ethanoic acid and
3.5 mol dm
-3
of ethanol. The K
c
of the equilibrium is 4.0 at 25
o
C.What are the
concentrations of the other components?

CH
3
COOH
(l)
+ C
2
H
5
OH
(l)
CH
3
COOC
2
H
5(l)
+ H
2
O
(l)

































A2 Chemistry Unit 4 Dynamic Equilibria Tutorial 1
Kajana Sivarasa 8


4.The Equilibrium Constant can be calculated from Experimental Data


Example Q:

Fe
2+
(aq)
+ Ag
+

(aq)


Fe
3+
(aq)
+ Ag
(s)


500cm
3
of 0.1 mol dm
-3
silver nitrate solution was added to 500 cm
3
of
0.1 mol dm
-3
of iron(ll) sulphate solution.
The mixture was left in a stoppered flask at 298K, which eventually reached
equilibrium. When samples of equilibrium mixture were taken and titrated the
titration result for Fe
2+
was 0.0439 mol dm
-3
.

Work out the equilibrium concentrations of the other components.