Law of Mass Action and Equilibrium Constant (Kc, Kp) The law of mass action states that the equilibrium constant (Kc) and the equilibrium constant (Kp) for...
Law of Mass Action and Equilibrium Constant (Kc, Kp)
The law of mass action states that the equilibrium constant (Kc) and the equilibrium constant (Kp) for a chemical reaction are equal. This means that the equilibrium constant is a constant expression of the ratio of the equilibrium concentrations of products and reactants.
Equilibrium constant (Kc)
The equilibrium constant for a reaction tells us the relative amounts of products and reactants at equilibrium. It is expressed as a numeric value between 0 and 1, with 0 indicating a reaction at equilibrium and 1 indicating a complete reaction.
Equilibrium constant (Kp)
The equilibrium constant for a reaction tells us the relative amounts of products and reactants at equilibrium. It is also expressed as a numeric value between 0 and 1, with 0 indicating a reaction at equilibrium and 1 indicating a complete reaction.
For example, consider the reaction between hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) to form water (H2O):
H2 + O2 -> H2O
The equilibrium constant for this reaction is equal to:
Kp = [H2O]/[H2][O2]
This means that the equilibrium constant for this reaction is equal to the ratio of the equilibrium concentrations of water molecules and hydrogen and oxygen molecules.
The law of mass action and equilibrium constant are used to predict the equilibrium positions of chemical reactions and to determine the extent to which reactions will proceed