CHEMICAL EQUILIBRIUM
Reversible reactions and dynamic equilibrium
Ammonia (NH3) is an important industrial chemical that is used in the manufacture of fertilisers. It is manufactured by reacting hydrogen with nitrogen.
The reaction is said to be reversible and the conversion of reactants to products is never complete.
N2 + 3H2 2NH3
A reversible reaction is a reaction which can take place in either direction
When the concentrations of the reactants and product have become constant, a state of chemical equilibrium is said to have been reached. This is a dynamic equilibrium; even though no reactions appear to be occurring, however two reactions continue to take place.
Chemical equilibrium is said to be dynamic because, at equilibrium, there are reactions continually occurring. The rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction.
Equilibrium Constants
At equilibrium as much hydrogen iodide is being decomposed as is formed and so the......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 1172
Approximate Pages: 5 (260 words per double-spaced page) |