Chapter 17, Problem 17A

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation: The representation for equilibrium constant for a reaction, the algebraic form of the equilibrium constant for a typical reaction and the indication of square brackets while writing equilibrium constant has to be given.

Concept Introduction:For a balanced chemical reaction,

  $aA+bB\rightleftharpoons cC+dD$

The equilibrium expression is ratio of the concentration of the products to the concentration of the reaction. The concentration of each reactant/product is raised to a power corresponding to their coefficient in the balanced equation.

The law of chemical equilibrium is given by the equilibrium expression,

  $K=\frac{{\left[C\right]}^c{\left[D\right]}^d}{{\left[A\right]}^a{\left[B\right]}^b}$

The equilibrium constant is represented as $K.$

Answer to Problem 17A

The equilibrium constant represents the ratio of concentration of products to concentration of reactants.

The algebraic form of writing equilibrium constant for a reaction is,

  $K=\frac{{\left[C\right]}^c{\left[D\right]}^d}{{\left[A\right]}^a{\left[B\right]}^b}$

The square brackets represent the concentration of chemical species at equilibrium (in $\left(\text{mol/L}\right)\text{.}$

Explanation of Solution

For a balanced chemical reaction,

  $aA+bB\rightleftharpoons cC+dD$

Where,

• $A,B,C,D$ are chemical species.
• $a,b,c$ and $d$ are coefficients in the balanced equation.

The equilibrium expression is given as,

  $K=\frac{{\left[C\right]}^c{\left[D\right]}^d}{{\left[A\right]}^a{\left[B\right]}^b}$

Where,

  $K$ is the value of equilibrium constant.

The equilibrium constant represents the ratio of concentration of products to concentration of reactant, which each species raised to the power of the coefficient of that species in the balanced equation.

The algebraic form of writing equilibrium constant for a reaction is,

  $K=\frac{{\left[C\right]}^c{\left[D\right]}^d}{{\left[A\right]}^a{\left[B\right]}^b}$

In the above expression, the square brackets represent the concentration of chemical species at equilibrium (in $\left(\text{mol/L}\right)\text{.}$