Dynamic equilibrium

Chemistry Level 2

The gas nitrogen dioxide ( N O X 2 ) \big(\ce{NO2}\big) reacts in an exothermic reaction to the gas dinitrogen tetraoxide ( N X 2 O X 4 ) \big(\ce{N2O4}\big) : 2 N O X 2 ( g ) ↔ N X 2 O X 4 ( g ) + h e a t . \ce{2 NO2 (g) <-> N2O4 (g) + heat}. Since both forward reaction and reverse reaction take place, a dynamic equilibrium forms after some time. The equilibrium is determined by the law of mass action K = [ N X 2 O X 4 ] [ N O X 2 ] 2 , K = \frac{\big[\ce{N2O4}\big]}{ \big[\ce{NO2}\big]^2}, where K K is the equilibrium constant. (In the gas phase, square brackets indicate partial pressure.)

How can the reaction be shifted to the product side, so that the equilibrium constant K K is increased?

By increasing the temperature By lowering the total pressure (expansion of the gas) By adding additional nitrogen dioxide ( N O X 2 ) \big(\ce{NO2}\big) None of the above

Markus Michelmann by Markus Michelmann , 35, Germany

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1 solution

Swafim Li
Apr 4, 2018

Only change of temperature can change the equilibrium constant.

More precisely, if a reaction is an endothermic reaction, then K is increased with the temperature increasing . If a reaction is an exothermic reaction, K is increased with temperature decreasing .

The reaction above is an exothermic reaction, so we can increase its K by the only way——decreasing temperature.

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