6/20/2017 LeChatelier'sPrinciple

LECHATELIER'SPRINCIPLE

ThispagelooksatLeChatelier'sPrincipleandexplainshowto
applyittoreactionsinastateofdynamicequilibrium.Itcovers
changestothepositionofequilibriumifyouchange
concentration,pressureortemperature.Italsoexplainsvery
brieflywhycatalystshavenoeffectonthepositionof
equilibrium.

Important:Ifyouaren'tsureaboutthewordsdynamic
equilibriumorpositionofequilibriumyoushouldreadthe
introductorypagebeforeyougoon

Itisimportantinunderstandingeverythingonthispageto
realisethatLeChatelier'sPrincipleisnomorethanauseful
guidetohelpyouworkoutwhathappenswhenyouchangethe
conditionsinareactionindynamicequilibrium.Itdoesn'texplain
anything.I'llkeepcomingbacktothatpoint!

UsingLeChatelier'sPrinciple

AstatementofLeChatelier'sPrinciple

Ifadynamicequilibriumisdisturbedbychangingthe
conditions,thepositionofequilibriummovestocounteract
thechange.

UsingLeChatelier'sPrinciplewithachangeof
concentration

Supposeyouhaveanequilibriumestablishedbetweenfour
substancesA,B,CandD.

Note:Incaseyouwonder,thereasonforchoosingthis
equationratherthanhavingjustA+Bonthelefthandsideis
becausefurtherdownthispageIneedanequationwhichhas
differentnumbersofmoleculesoneachside.Iamgoingto
usethatsameequationthroughoutthispage.

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Whatwouldhappenifyouchangedtheconditionsby
increasingtheconcentrationofA?

AccordingtoLeChatelier,thepositionofequilibriumwillmovein
suchawayastocounteractthechange.Thatmeansthatthe
positionofequilibriumwillmovesothattheconcentrationofA
decreasesagainbyreactingitwithBandturningitintoC+D.
Thepositionofequilibriummovestotheright.

Thisisausefulwayofconvertingthemaximumpossibleamount
ofBintoCandD.Youmightuseitif,forexample,Bwasa
relativelyexpensivematerialwhereasAwascheapandplentiful.

Whatwouldhappenifyouchangedtheconditionsby
decreasingtheconcentrationofA?

AccordingtoLeChatelier,thepositionofequilibriumwillmove
sothattheconcentrationofAincreasesagain.Thatmeansthat
moreCandDwillreacttoreplacetheAthathasbeenremoved.
Thepositionofequilibriummovestotheleft.

Thisisesssentiallywhathappensifyouremoveoneofthe
productsofthereactionassoonasitisformed.If,forexample,
youremovedCassoonasitwasformed,thepositionof
equilibriumwouldmovetotherighttoreplaceit.Ifyoukepton
removingit,theequilibriumpositionwouldkeeponmoving
rightwardsturningthisintoaonewayreaction.

Important

Thisisn'tinanywayanexplanationofwhythepositionof
equilibriummovesinthewaysdescribed.AllLeChatelier's
Principlegivesyouisaquickwayofworkingoutwhathappens.

Note:Ifyouknowaboutequilibriumconstants,youwillfind
amoredetailedexplanationoftheeffectofachangeof
concentrationbyfollowingthislink.Ifyoudon'tknow
anythingaboutequilibriumconstants,youshouldignorethis
link.

Ifyouchoosetofollowit,returntothispageviatheBACK
buttononyourbrowserorviatheequilibriummenu.

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UsingLeChatelier'sPrinciplewithachangeofpressure

Thisonlyappliestoreactionsinvolvinggases:

Whatwouldhappenifyouchangedtheconditionsby
increasingthepressure?

AccordingtoLeChatelier,thepositionofequilibriumwillmovein
suchawayastocounteractthechange.Thatmeansthatthe
positionofequilibriumwillmovesothatthepressureisreduced
again.

Pressureiscausedbygasmoleculeshittingthesidesoftheir
container.Themoremoleculesyouhaveinthecontainer,the
higherthepressurewillbe.Thesystemcanreducethepressure
byreactinginsuchawayastoproducefewermolecules.

Inthiscase,thereare3moleculesonthelefthandsideofthe
equation,butonly2ontheright.ByformingmoreCandD,the
systemcausesthepressuretoreduce.

Increasingthepressureonagasreactionshiftsthepositionof
equilibriumtowardsthesidewithfewermolecules.

Whatwouldhappenifyouchangedtheconditionsby
decreasingthepressure?

Theequilibriumwillmoveinsuchawaythatthepressure
increasesagain.Itcandothatbyproducingmoremolecules.In
thiscase,thepositionofequilibriumwillmovetowardstheleft
handsideofthereaction.

Whathappensiftherearethesamenumberofmolecules
onbothsidesoftheequilibriumreaction?

Inthiscase,increasingthepressurehasnoeffectwhatsoever
onthepositionoftheequilibrium.Becauseyouhavethesame
numbersofmoleculesonbothsides,theequilibriumcan'tmove
inanywaythatwillreducethepressureagain.

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Important

Again,thisisn'tanexplanationofwhythepositionofequilibrium
movesinthewaysdescribed.Youwillfindarathermathematical
treatmentoftheexplanationbyfollowingthelinkbelow.

Note:Youwillfindadetailedexplanationbyfollowingthis
link.Ifyoudon'tknowanythingaboutequilibriumconstants
(particularlyKp),youshouldignorethislink.Thesamething
appliesifyoudon'tlikethingstobetoomathematical!Ifyou
areaUKA'levelstudent,youwon'tneedthisexplanation.

Ifyouchoosetofollowthelink,returntothispageviathe
BACKbuttononyourbrowserorviatheequilibriummenu.

UsingLeChatelier'sPrinciplewithachangeoftemperature

Forthis,youneedtoknowwhetherheatisgivenoutor
absorbedduringthereaction.Assumethatourforwardreaction
isexothermic(heatisevolved):

Thisshowsthat250kJisevolved(hencethenegativesign)
when1moleofAreactscompletelywith2molesofB.For
reversiblereactions,thevalueisalwaysgivenasifthereaction
wasonewayintheforwarddirection.

Thebackreaction(theconversionofCandDintoAandB)
wouldbeendothermicbyexactlythesameamount.

Whatwouldhappenifyouchangedtheconditionsby
increasingthetemperature?

AccordingtoLeChatelier,thepositionofequilibriumwillmovein
suchawayastocounteractthechange.Thatmeansthatthe
positionofequilibriumwillmovesothatthetemperatureis
reducedagain.

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Supposethesystemisinequilibriumat300C,andyouincrease
thetemperatureto500C.Howcanthereactioncounteractthe
changeyouhavemade?Howcanitcoolitselfdownagain?

Tocooldown,itneedstoabsorbtheextraheatthatyouhave
justputin.Inthecasewearelookingat,thebackreaction
absorbsheat.Thepositionofequilibriumthereforemovestothe
left.ThenewequilibriummixturecontainsmoreAandB,and
lessCandD.

IfyouwereaimingtomakeasmuchCandDaspossible,
increasingthetemperatureonareversiblereactionwherethe
forwardreactionisexothermicisn'tagoodidea!

Whatwouldhappenifyouchangedtheconditionsby
decreasingthetemperature?

Theequilibriumwillmoveinsuchawaythatthetemperature
increasesagain.

Supposethesystemisinequilibriumat500Candyoureduce
thetemperatureto400C.Thereactionwilltendtoheatitselfup
againtoreturntotheoriginaltemperature.Itcandothatby
favouringtheexothermicreaction.

Thepositionofequilibriumwillmovetotheright.MoreAandB
areconvertedintoCandDatthelowertemperature.

Summary

Increasingthetemperatureofasystemindynamic
equilibriumfavourstheendothermicreaction.Thesystem
counteractsthechangeyouhavemadebyabsorbingthe
extraheat.

Decreasingthetemperatureofasystemindynamic
equilibriumfavourstheexothermicreaction.Thesystem
counteractsthechangeyouhavemadebyproducingmore
heat.

Important

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Again,thisisn'tinanywayanexplanationofwhythepositionof
equilibriummovesinthewaysdescribed.Itisonlyawayof
helpingyoutoworkoutwhathappens.

Note:Iamnotgoingtoattemptanexplanationofthis
anywhereonthesite.Todoitproperlyisfartoodifficultfor
thislevel.Itispossibletocomeupwithanexplanationof
sortsbylookingathowtherateconstantsfortheforwardand
backreactionschangerelativetoeachotherbyusingthe
Arrheniusequation,butthisisn'tastandardwayofdoingit,
andisliabletoconfusethoseofyougoingontodoa
Chemistrydegree.Ifyouaren'tgoingtodoaChemistry
degree,youwon'tneedtoknowaboutthisanyway!

LeChatelier'sPrincipleandcatalysts

Catalystshavesneakedontothispageunderfalsepretences,
becauseaddingacatalystmakesabsolutelynodifferenceto
thepositionofequilibrium,andLeChatelier'sPrinciple
doesn'tapplytothem.

Thisisbecauseacatalystspeedsuptheforwardandback
reactiontothesameextent.Becauseaddingacatalystdoesn't
affecttherelativeratesofthetworeactions,itcan'taffectthe
positionofequilibrium.Sowhyuseacatalyst?

Foradynamicequilibriumtobesetup,theratesoftheforward
reactionandthebackreactionhavetobecomeequal.This
doesn'thappeninstantly.Foraveryslowreaction,itcouldtake
years!Acatalystspeedsuptherateatwhichareactionreaches
dynamicequilibrium.

Note:Youmighttryimagininghowlongitwouldtaketo
establishadynamicequilibriumifyoutookthevisualmodel
ontheintroductorypageandreducedthechancesofthe
colourschangingbyafactorof1000from3in6to3in
6000andfrom1in6to1in6000.

Startingwithbluesquares,bytheendofthetimetakenfor
theexamplesonthatpage,youwouldmostprobablystill
haveentirelybluesquares.Eventually,though,youwould
endupwiththesamesortofpatternsasbeforecontaining
25%blueand75%orangesquares.

Questionstotestyourunderstanding

Ifthisisthefirstsetofquestionsyouhavedone,pleasereadthe
introductorypagebeforeyoustart.YouwillneedtousetheBACKBUTTON
onyourbrowsertocomebackhereafterwards.

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6/20/2017 LeChatelier'sPrinciple

questionsonLeChatelier'sPrinciple

answers

Wherewouldyouliketogonow?

Totheequilibriummenu...

TothePhysicalChemistrymenu...

ToMainMenu...

JimClark2002(modifiedApril2013)

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