Chemical equilibria menu

Chemical Equlibria

Basic descriptive topics

Explaining chemical equilibria . . .: Explains some basic concepts: reversible reactions, closed systems, dynamic equilibrium, and position of equilibrium.
Le Chatelier's Principle . . .: Explains the use of Le Chatelier's Principle in working out what happens to an equilibrium if you change the conditions (concentration, temperature, pressure or catalyst).
The Haber Process . . .: Looks in detail at how the conditions for the Haber Process for the manufacture of ammonia are determined by the equilibrium between hydrogen, nitrogen and ammonia.
The Contact Process . . .: Looks in detail at how the conditions for the Contact Process for the manufacture of sulphuric acid are determined by the equilibrium between sulphur dioxide, oxygen and sulphur trioxide.
The manufacture of ethanol from ethene . . .: Looks in detail at how the conditions for this process are determined by the equilibrium reaction at its heart.

Mathematical bits

K_c . . .: Explains equilibrium constants expressed in terms of concentrations.
K_p . . .: Explains equilibrium constants expressed in terms of partial pressures. Includes an explanation of the terms partial pressure and mole fraction. Before you read this page, you should have a reasonable understanding of K_c.
The effect of changing conditions . . .: Looks at the way that equilibrium constants are changed (or not!) as you change the conditions for a reaction (concentration, temperature, pressure or catalyst), and how this ties in with Le Chatelier's Principle. This page assumes that you are fully confident about writing expressions for both kinds of equilibrium constants.