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CHEMISTRY HELP! What will cause the reaction to proceed backwards?
Given the following reaction, 2SO_2(g) + O_2(g) = 2SO_3, what will cause the reaction to proceed backwards?
A) increasing the volume of the reaction vessel
B) adding SO_3
C) removing O_2
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
2 Answers
- pisgahchemistLv 75 years agoFavorite Answer
Chemical equilibria....
For a system at equilibrium the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction.
2SO2(g) + O2(g) <==> 2SO3(g) ................ Keq = ???
According to Le Chatelier's principle, changes to a system of equilibrium will shift the equilibrium to the right or left in order to minimize the effect of the change. The important thing is that after the change, the system will still be in equilibrium.
A) increasing the volume of the reaction vessel
An increase in volume will decrease the overall pressure. The system will move to the left to make more molecules which serve to increase the pressure closer to what it was originally.
B) adding SO3
The addition of SO3 gas will shift the equilibrium to the left to lower the partial pressure of SO3 and increase the partial pressures of SO2 and O2.
C) removing O2
The removal of O2 gas will shift the equilibrium to the left to increase the partial pressure of O2 (and SO2) and decrease the partial pressure of SO3.
All three changes shift the equilibrium to the left.
Saying that the reaction "proceeds backwards" is a bit cumbersome. It is the position of the equilibrium which changes. The reaction at equilibrium is proceeding forward and backwards, so to speak, simultaneously.
