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The Rate and Extent of Chemical Change

The effect of pressure changes on equilibrium

  • 3 things to know
  • Chemistry Paper 2

Overview

Which equilibria respond to pressure and why solutions do not, shifting towards fewer or more molecules, counting gas molecules from balancing numbers, and predictions for the ammonia, sulfur dioxide, N₂O₄ and hydrogen iodide equilibria.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

State the kind of equilibrium mixture whose position of equilibrium is altered by a change in pressure.

Key term

Explain why a change in pressure has no effect on the position of an equilibrium between substances dissolved in solution.

Key term

Describe how you work out which side of a gaseous equilibrium has the smaller number of molecules.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    State the kind of equilibrium mixture whose position of equilibrium is altered by a change in pressure.

    Model answer

    One in which the reactants and products include gases.

  2. 2

    Explain why a change in pressure has no effect on the position of an equilibrium between substances dissolved in solution.

    Model answer

    A change in pressure alters how closely gas particles are packed together, and there are no gases present to be affected.

  3. 3

    State the direction in which the position of a gaseous equilibrium shifts when the pressure is increased.

    Model answer

    It shifts towards the side with the smaller number of molecules.

  4. 4

    State the direction in which the position of a gaseous equilibrium shifts when the pressure is decreased.

    Model answer

    It shifts towards the side with the larger number of molecules.

  5. 5

    Describe how you work out which side of a gaseous equilibrium has the smaller number of molecules.

    Model answer

    Add up the balancing numbers in front of the gases on each side of the symbol equation and compare the two totals.

  6. 6

    Explain why increasing the pressure shifts a gaseous equilibrium towards the side with fewer molecules.

    Model answer

    Fewer gas molecules exert a lower pressure, so shifting that way opposes the increase in pressure that was made.

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