Le Chateliers Princible Flashcards
What do reversible reactions try to do
Counter act changes
What is the le Chateliers principle
The idea that if you change the conditions of a reversible reaction at equilibrium the system will try to counter act the change
What can the le chateleirs principle be used for
To predict the effect of any changes you make to a reaction system
What happens if you decrease the temperature
The equilibrium will move in the exothermic direction to produce more heat
This means you’ll get more products for the exothermic reaction and fewer products for the endothermic reaction
What will happen if you raise the temperature
The equilibrium will move in the endothermic direction to try and decrease it
You will get more products for the endothermic reaction and fewer products for the exothermic reaction
What does changing the pressure effect
Only reactions involving gases
What happens if you increase the pressure
The equilibrium tries to reduce it and it moves in the direction where there are fewer molecules of gas
What happens if you decrease the pressure
The reaction tries to increase it and it moves in the direction where there are more molecules of gas
What happens if you change the concentration of either products or reactants
The system will no longer be at equilibrium so the system reacts by trying to bring itself back to equilibrium again
What happens if you increase the concentration of the reactants
The system tries to decrease it by making more products
What happens if you decrease the concentration of products
It tries to increase it again by reducing the amount of reactants
