In the reaction below green chlorine gas and brown iodine chloride forms yellow iodine trichloride Cl2 (g) + ICl (l) ⇌ ICl3 (s)
If more iodine trichloride is added to the reaction, how will it affect the color of the mixture? A. It will become more brown and yellow B. It will become more green and brown C. It will become more yellow and green. D. It will not change.
Le Chateliers principle states that when a constraint such as change in concentration, volume, pressure or temperature is imposed on a reaction system at the equilibrium, the equilibrium position will shift in such a way as to annul the constraint. Let us see how this applies to the equation under consideration.
If the system is at equilibrium and more ICl3 is added to the system, the equilibrium will shift towards the left hand side (more reactants are formed). This implies that the colour of the system will become more green and brown since there are more reactants now in the system.
