Question

At equilibrium, the concentrations in this system were found to be [ N 2 ] = [ O 2 ] = 0.200 M and [ NO ] = 0.600 M . N 2 ( g ) + O 2 ( g ) − ⇀ ↽ − 2 NO ( g ) If more NO is added, bringing its concentration to 0.900 M, what will the final concentration of NO be after equilibrium is re‑established?

Answer 1

Answer:

0.78 M

Explanation:

First, we need to know which is the value of Kc of this reaction. In order to know this, we should take the innitial values of N2, O2 and NO and write the equilibrium constant expression according to the reaction. Doing this we have the following:

N2(g) + O2(g) <------> 2NO(g)   Kc = ?

Writting Kc:

Kc = [NO]² / [N2] * [O2]

Replacing the given values we have then:

Kc = (0.6)² / (0.2)*(0.2)

Kc = 9

Now that we have the Kc, let's see what happens next.

We add more NO, until it's concentration is 0.9 M, this means that we are actually altering the reaction to get more reactants than product, which means that the equilibrium is being affected. If this is true, in the reaction when is re established the equilibrium, we'll see a loss in the concentration of NO and a gaining in concentrations of the reactants. This can be easily watched by doing an ICE chart:

      N2(g) + O2(g) <------> 2NO(g)

I:      0.2        0.2                 0.9

C:     +x         +x                   -2x

E:    0.2+x    0.2+x             0.9-2x

Replacing in the Kc expression we have:

Kc =  [NO]² / [N2] * [O2]

9 = (0.9-2x)² / (0.2+x)*(0.2+x)   ----> (this can be expressed as 0.2+x)²

Here, we solve for x:

9 = (0.9-2x)² / (0.2+x)²

√9 = (0.9-2x) / (0.2+x)

3(0.2+x) = 0.9-2x

0.6 + 3x = 0.9 - 2x

3x + 2x = 0.9 - 0.6

5x = 0.3

x = 0.06 M

This means that the final concentration of NO will be:

[NO] = 0.9 - (2*0.06)

[NO] = 0.78 M