A Chemistry student is trying to determine the effect of changing the volume on the equilibrium position of a chemical reaction at constant temperature. If the reaction is initially in equilibrium in a 1 L container with a concentration of [X] = 0.10 M and [Y] = 0.20 M, and then the volume is decreased to 0.4 L, what will be the new equilibrium concentrations of X and Y at the new volume?

Question

A Chemistry student is trying to determine the effect of changing the volume on the equilibrium position of a chemical reaction at constant temperature. If the reaction is initially in equilibrium in a 1 L container with a concentration of [X] = 0.10 M and [Y] = 0.20 M, and then the volume is decreased to 0.4 L, what will be the new equilibrium concentrations of X and Y at the

Answer 1

To determine the new equilibrium concentrations of X and Y, we first need to find the initial moles of X and Y in the 1 L container.Initial moles of X = [X]  volume = 0.10 M  1 L = 0.10 molesInitial moles of Y = [Y]  volume = 0.20 M  1 L = 0.20 molesNow, when the volume is decreased to 0.4 L, the moles of X and Y will remain the same, but the concentrations will change. We can find the new concentrations by dividing the moles by the new volume:New concentration of X = moles of X / new volume = 0.10 moles / 0.4 L = 0.25 MNew concentration of Y = moles of Y / new volume = 0.20 moles / 0.4 L = 0.50 MSo, the new equilibrium concentrations of X and Y at the new volume of 0.4 L are [X] = 0.25 M and [Y] = 0.50 M.