Question

If the reaction quotient, Q, for a reaction is less than the value of the equilibrium constant, K, for the reaction at a given temperature what must be converted to work for the system to reach equilibrium?

Answer 1

The equilibrium must move in a forward direction..........

Explanation:

For the reaction,

`A+Brightleftharpoons C+D`,

we write `K_(eq)=([C][D])/([A][B])`

This describes an equilibrium condition, where the rate of forward reaction is equal to the reverse rate of reaction.

Under non-equilibrium conditions, (for instance at the start of the reaction), we write `Q_"rxn quotient"=([C][D])/([A][B])`.

At the start of the reaction, we can conceive that the reactant concentrations, `[A]` and `[B]`, are LARGER than they would be at equilibrium, so `Q_"rxn"` `<` `K_"eq"`, and so the reaction proceeds in a forward direction, until `Q_"rxn"` `=` `K_"eq"`.