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What is the effect of adding a catalyst on the equilibrium position of a redox reaction between iron(III) oxide and carbon monoxide, where iron is reduced and carbon is oxidized according to the following equation?Fe2O3 + 3CO ⇆ 2Fe + 3CO2 Calculate the equilibrium constant (Kp) of the reaction at 298 K in the presence and absence of a catalyst. Explain whether or not the presence of the catalyst will affect the position of equilibrium and justify the answer with relevant calculations.

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Adding a catalyst to a reaction does not affect the equilibrium position of the reaction. A catalyst works by lowering the activation energy of the reaction, which speeds up the rate at which the reaction reaches equilibrium. However, the equilibrium constant  Kp  remains the same, as it is only dependent on the temperature and the nature of the reactants and products.To calculate the equilibrium constant  Kp  of the reaction at 298 K, we would need the standard Gibbs free energy change  G  for the reaction. Unfortunately, the given information is not sufficient to calculate the equilibrium constant  Kp  directly. However, we can still discuss the effect of a catalyst on the equilibrium position.In the presence of a catalyst, the reaction will reach equilibrium faster, but the position of equilibrium will remain the same. This is because the catalyst affects both the forward and reverse reactions equally, allowing them to reach equilibrium more quickly without changing the equilibrium constant  Kp .In conclusion, the presence of a catalyst will not affect the position of equilibrium for the redox reaction between iron III  oxide and carbon monoxide. The equilibrium constant  Kp  will remain the same, and the reaction will simply reach equilibrium more quickly due to the lowered activation energy provided by the catalyst.

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