Question

A chemistry student wants to know the equilibrium constant for the reaction between nitrogen and hydrogen to produce ammonia. If the initial concentration of nitrogen is 0.2 moles/L, the initial concentration of hydrogen is 0.1 moles/L, and the equilibrium concentration of ammonia is 0.3 moles/L, what is the equilibrium constant for this reaction?

Answer 1

To find the equilibrium constant  K  for the reaction between nitrogen  N2  and hydrogen  H2  to produce ammonia  NH3 , we first need to write the balanced chemical equation for the reaction:N2 g  + 3H2 g   2NH3 g Next, we need to determine the changes in the concentrations of the reactants and products at equilibrium. Since the equilibrium concentration of ammonia is 0.3 moles/L, we can determine the change in the concentration of ammonia:[NH3] = 0.3 moles/L - 0 moles/L = 0.3 moles/LSince 2 moles of ammonia are produced for every mole of nitrogen and 3 moles of hydrogen consumed, we can determine the changes in the concentrations of nitrogen and hydrogen:[N2] = -0.3 moles/L  2 = -0.15 moles/L[H2] = -0.3 moles/L  2  3 = -0.45 moles/LNow, we can find the equilibrium concentrations of nitrogen, hydrogen, and ammonia:[N2]eq = 0.2 moles/L +  -0.15 moles/L  = 0.05 moles/L[H2]eq = 0.1 moles/L +  -0.45 moles/L  = 0.1 - 0.45 = -0.35 moles/L[NH3]eq = 0.3 moles/LHowever, the equilibrium concentration of hydrogen cannot be negative. This indicates that there is an error in the given information. Please double-check the initial concentrations and the equilibrium concentration of ammonia, and provide the correct values to solve the problem.