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A chemistry student is asked to determine the effect of temperature and pressure on the equilibrium of the reaction: 2NO2(g) ⇋ N2O4(g) using Le Chatelier’s principle. The initial concentration of NO2(g) is 0.5 mol/L and the reaction is carried out at 25°C. How will the equilibrium shift if the temperature is increased to 100°C and the pressure is decreased to 0.5 atm?

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Le Chatelier's principle states that if a system at equilibrium is subjected to a change in temperature, pressure, or concentration of reactants or products, the system will adjust its equilibrium position to counteract the change.For the reaction: 2NO2 g   N2O4 g 1. Effect of temperature:The reaction is exothermic  releases heat  in the forward direction, as the formation of N2O4 from NO2 releases heat. When the temperature is increased from 25C to 100C, the system will try to counteract the increase in temperature by shifting the equilibrium towards the endothermic  absorbs heat  direction. In this case, the endothermic direction is the reverse reaction  breaking N2O4 into NO2 . Therefore, the equilibrium will shift to the left, favoring the formation of NO2.2. Effect of pressure:When the pressure is decreased from 1 atm  standard pressure  to 0.5 atm, the system will try to counteract the decrease in pressure by shifting the equilibrium towards the side with more gas molecules. In this reaction, there are 2 moles of NO2 gas on the left side and 1 mole of N2O4 gas on the right side. Therefore, the equilibrium will shift to the left, favoring the formation of NO2.In conclusion, when the temperature is increased to 100C and the pressure is decreased to 0.5 atm, the equilibrium of the reaction will shift to the left, favoring the formation of NO2.

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