Chemistry (7th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0321943171
ISBN 13: 978-0-32194-317-0

Chapter 14 - Chemical Equilibrium - Worked Example - Page 567: 14

Answer

No, the amount of remaining ethanol will be very insignificant. Since this reaction has a very large equilibrium constant $(1.2 \times 10^{82})$, the reactants are negligible at the equilibrium.

Work Step by Step

Analyzing mathematically the expression: $K_c = \frac{[Products]}{[Reactants]}$, it is possible to predict that: as the products concentration decrease, the $K_c$ gets smaller, and as the reactants concentration decrease, the $K_c$ gets larger. Since the $K_c$ has a very large value in this case $(1.2 \times 10^{82})$, there is a very small reactants concentration. Knowing that Ethanol is a reactant, we can affirm that its concentration is going to be very small too.
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