Calculate the reaction quotient, Q, for the following reaction at room temperature:$$\ce{CH4(g) + 2O2(g) -> CO2(g) + 2H2O(g)}$$Given:- Partial pressure of methane, $\ce{CH4}$ = 0.25 atm- Partial pressure of oxygen, $\ce{O2}$ = 0.75 atm- Partial pressure of carbon dioxide, $\ce{CO2}$ = 0.0 atm- Partial pressure of water vapor, $\ce{H2O(g)}$ = 0.0 atmUse Q to determine if the reaction is at equilibrium, or if it will shift towards the products or reactants to reach equilibrium.

Question

Calculate the reaction quotient, Q, for the following reaction at room temperature:$$\ce{CH4(g) + 2O2(g) -> CO2(g) + 2H2O(g)}$$Given:- Partial pressure of methane, $\ce{CH4}$ = 0.25 atm- Partial pressure of oxygen, $\ce{O2}$ = 0.75 atm- Partial pressure of carbon dioxide, $\ce{CO2}$ = 0.0 atm- Partial pressure of water vapor, $\ce{H2O(g)}$ = 0.0 atmUse Q to determine if the reaction is at equilibrium, or if it will shi

Answer 1

To calculate the reaction quotient, Q, we use the expression for Q based on the balanced chemical equation and the partial pressures of the gases involved:$$Q = \frac{[\ce{CO2}] \times [\ce{H2O}]^2}{[\ce{CH4}] \times [\ce{O2}]^2}$$Plugging in the given partial pressures:$$Q = \frac{ 0.0\,\text{atm}  \times  0.0\,\text{atm} ^2}{ 0.25\,\text{atm}  \times  0.75\,\text{atm} ^2}$$Since the numerator is 0  due to the partial pressures of CO2 and H2O being 0 , Q is also 0:$$Q = 0$$Now, to determine if the reaction is at equilibrium or if it will shift towards the products or reactants, we need to compare Q to the equilibrium constant, K. However, K is not provided in this problem.Nevertheless, we can still make a qualitative assessment. Since Q is 0 and the partial pressures of the products are 0, the reaction is not at equilibrium. The reaction will shift towards the products  CO2 and H2O  to reach equilibrium, as the forward reaction will occur to increase the concentrations of the products and decrease the concentrations of the reactants  CH4 and O2 .