Labs / Chemistry
Le Chatelier
The reaction A + B ⇌ C is already running at equilibrium: forward and reverse collisions balance, so the bars hold steady. Now poke it — add more of something, turn up the heat, or slide the piston in — and watch the mixture shift to relieve the stress before settling at a new balance.
[A] 0[B] 0[C] 0Shift —
What to try
- Dump in extra reactant. Which way does the mixture shift, and where do the bars end up?
- Squeeze the volume with the piston. Why does crowding the molecules favour the side with fewer particles?
- Heat an exothermic reaction versus an endothermic one — why does the same temperature change push them in opposite directions?
- After the system re-settles, is it truly frozen, or are forward and reverse reactions still happening?
- Can you undo an "add product" stress using only temperature or volume?