Question

Which situation would cause the following equilibrium reaction to increase the formation of the product? 2SO2 (g) + O2 (g) Two arrows stacked on top of each other. The top arrow points to the right. The bottom arrow points to the left. 2SO3 (g) + Energ

Which situation would cause the following equilibrium reaction to increase the formation of the product?

2SO2 (g) + O2 (g) Two arrows stacked on top of each other. The top arrow points to the right. The bottom arrow points to the left. 2SO3 (g) + Energy

decrease the pressure
increase the volume
increase the temperature
decrease the temperature

Answer 1

increase the volume and decreasing the temperature

Explanation:

To increase the formation of the product, you want to move the reaction to the right

Decreasing the pressure will mean that you have more volume. Hence, since you have 3 moles on your left and 2 moles on your right, then the reaction will move to the left because it prefers a greater volume

Increasing the volume means that you don't have much space. If you image 3 moles squashed into a tiny little space, they wouldn't really like that. So the less moles there are, the better. Hence, the reaction will move to the right, creating more products since they are 2 moles only

Energy released means that the reaction is exothermic
If you increase the temperature, you are proportionally increasing the heat or energy produced. Hence, the reaction will prefer to move to the left because the product already produces energy so it doesn't require even more energy. This is also in reference to Le Chatelier's principle.

However, if you decrease the temperature, you are decreasing the heat or energy produced. However, your reaction produces energy so it will shift the equilibrium to the right, producing more energy